Ninja's and Wizards Can they work together?
by mewmewgodess
Summary: Konoha and Suna ninja's are asked to go to Hogwarts to help them fight Lord Voldemort. Orochimaru and the Akatsuki have their own parts in this as well. Who will win, who will lose? Discontinued. Up for adoption.
1. The mission

Title: Ninja's and Wizards. Can They Work Together?  
Rating: PG-13 (May be cursing)  
Crossover between: Harry Potter and Naruto.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
Summary: Some ninja are asked to go to Hogwarts to help protect it from the Dark Lord. The Akatsuki and Orochimaru will also play a part in the battle-to-be.  
Others: It's in the Harry Potter universe, and it's a mix of the books. Some things that happen in the later books happen earlier than they are supposed to and such. If you have questions, feel free to ask them.

**EDIT: **This story has been edited from chapter 1-7. The first three chapters have had many changes and are now easier to get through. (April 2010)

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It was another day in Konoha, when Lady Tsunade received a rather strange request for a mission. But the village was dropping in mission requests, and as their Leader, she knew that she had to take all requests that she could. Besides, the one who made the requests made sure to have her understand the missions utter importance. She was doubtful, but accepted it none the less.

Before her were one of her Jounnin, Kakashi, four of her Gennin, Kiba, Hinata, Lee, and Tenten, as well as three Gennin from Suna, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.

"The eight of you have been asked here for a very special mission. All of you were requested personally, which is why Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro are here. It is a high rank mission with variable outcomes. The mission is as followed. You are to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and protect the school from any dangers that may arise. I was not given the reasons why he asked for the eight of you specifically, but I figure it's because you will be the one's to blend in the easiest.

"You will attend the school as students, and you Kakashi will be a teacher. You all can do magic, but doing so well is of little importance. Your ninja skills should be more than enough to help you defend the school." Tsunade explained to them.

"What danger is there expected to be?" Temari asked the blonde Hokage.

"Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, has told me that a person called Lord Voldemort has returned to his former power. It's a complicated story, that isn't really in the need-to-know. Basically, he lost his power, regained it, and is now a threat to everybody." The way she said it, it was obvious that it stressed her out. On top of both Orochimaru and the Akatsuki, there was now this Lord Voldemort person.

"Do you mean...That he may be a danger to us as well?" Lee asked her. It was silent.

She looked at them, and now they noticed the rings under her eyes, and the empty Sake bottle at the edge of her desk, "Yes. But if we fight with Hogwarts we should be alright. Unless..." She trailed off.

"Unless Orochimaru, the Akatsuki, or some other enemy decide to join him." Kakashi spoke into the silence.

"Yeah..." Nobody spoke when she confirmed what Kakashi said.

"So..." Kiba cleared his throat to interrupt the silence, "How long are we supposed to be there?"

This seemed to bring Lady Tsunade out of her depressed stupor, she returned to being serious, "You'll be there for as long as needed. The school year starts the first of September, but you'll have to be there in advance. You'll all be entering in the third year. You'll come back for summer and go back for the fourth year if need be."

"We just have to go to the school and wait to be attacked?" Kankuro asked.

"Basically, but you can't tell anyone your true intentions, and you have to at least act like real students. Make sure to keep up your training while you're there to."

"Okay, that's pretty simple...I guess..." Tenten said, a bit nervously.

"Good. You will be leaving tomorrow for England where you will go to Diagon Alley to get what you need for school. It's hidden, but it shouldn't be hard to find." She said and gave Kakashi a scroll. The scroll had the tickets they needed for the train and the proof of who they are for the headmaster. In it there was also the same list of books for all the kids and he had his own list he needed for his class.

"You will be split into two groups. Since Kakashi is going to be an assistant teacher at the school he won't be in either of the groups. You will all be together for most of the time, but if anything happens you are to go to your own group. Hinata, Tenten, Gaara, and Kankuro will be the first group, and the second will be Temari, Lee, and Kiba. Albus Dumbledore will meet you when you arive and will give you more details. Any questions?"

She received a negative, and told them to meet each other at the main gate at 5 am sharp.

-------

It was 5 am and everyone had arrived on time. Even Kakashi.

"We shouldn't run into an enemy on the way and getting there should take a total of three weeks." He said putting away the scroll which contained a map as well. It was early August, so they had a couple days to spare.

Everyone looked at each other, and they were off.

------

It had been three weeks and they now stood in the middle of London, England.

They had taken off their most obvious ninja demeanors before entering the city. Kakashi wore sunglasses to cover his Sharingan, because they'd all put away their forehead protectors. They'd put all their weapons into a summoning scroll that Kakashi kept on him. Tenten kept her scrolls with her, and Kiba had Akamaru stay hidden in his hoodie, lest he be forced to put him on a leash.

The only problem was trying to get Gaara to put away his gourd. Which, they did not succeed in doing.

With the help of Hinata's Byakugan and Akamaru, they managed to find the entrance to Diagon Alley with little difficulty. Hinata led them into a bar. The barman looked at them for merely a moment before continuing to wash a dirty cup, with an even dirtier wash cloth. They went into a back room and stood facing a brick wall.

Hinata activated her Byakugan once more, and saw that there was a chakra pattern going through some of the bricks, "Kakashi-sensei, there is chakra going through some of the bricks. I'm pretty sure you just need to put some chakra into those bricks in a certain order." She told him.

Kakashi pushed some chakra into the bricks that Hinata showed him and then the bricks slowly moved to the side. Behind the bricks was a large market place, which they identified as Diagon Alley when they saw the sign off to the side.

"We're finally here!" Kiba yelled out happily followed by a bark from Akamaru.

"Yeah!" Kankuro said walking forward to get a better view. Apparently it was nearing the beginning of the school year because there were a lot of people.

"So, what do we need to get?" Tenten asked.

"You will need these." Kakashi said, giving them each a list.

They read over their lists quickly, "That's alot of stuff!" Temari said after a moment.

"Yes, so here's your money." He gave them a heavy pouch, "I'm going to go do my own shopping. If you split up, stay in your groups and also meet back right here in a couple hours." Kakashi said, and he then left them to do their own shopping.

"He's probably just going to read that book of his." Kiba said.

"Yeah, but we can't worry about that now. We need to get going. We only have two hours!" Tenten said, pointing out their short amount of time.

"I think maybe it would be easier if we do as he said and split up." Temari said.

Everyone agreed and they split up. Temari walked away with Kiba and Lee walking behind her and talking animatedly. Gaara, Kankuro, Hinata, and Tenten walked off talking quietly amongst themselves.

-----

The two hours passed by quickly and they luckily had very little difficulty in finding all they needed. The utility of half the things were unknown to most of them at the moment though. Everyone met up at the starting point as asked of them.

"So, everyone has what they need right?" Kakashi asked them. Even he had acquired a couple items.

"Yes! Here what's left of the money, Kakashi-sensei!" Lee said giving him the pouch back, which was considerably less heavy.

"Alright, tomorrow we will be getting on the train to Hogwarts. The train leaves at noon and we have to go to King's Cross to platform nine and three-quarters. It's hidden, but we'll be able to find it. So now we're going to spend the night at a hotel."

And so they walked through Diagon Alley until they fell upon a hotel. They spent the night there and awoke early the following morning. By ten o'clock, everyone was ready to head out.

"Everyone have their things?" Kakashi asked them as they were about to exit the hotel. When he received an affirmative answer he continued to talk, "Good. I'm not sure where this Kings Cross station is so it's best to leave as soon as possible. Lady Tsunade showed me a jutsu that I'll put on us all that will enable us to speak and understand English." He said and he performed the jutsu quickly. They all felt a moment of dizzyness, but that disappeared quickly.

When he was sure that no problems had come of the jutsu, they set off to find the train station. It took them half an hour to find it. They entered the train station and looked around, wondering where the entrance to platform nine and three-quarters could be hidden.

"Akamaru's found the entrance." Kiba said. He'd put Akamaru on the ground when they entered the station. The dog was looking at them wagging his tail, then walked off leading them to a brick wall between platforms nine and ten.

"The wall smells like chakra, we can just walk through it and it'll bring us to the platform." Kiba told them.

"Good work Kiba." Kakashi said.

"So, just walk into it?" Temari asked.

"Pretty much." Kiba said, getting ready to go through the wall. He looked around to make sure that no one was looking and ran his cart into the wall. The others watched him disappear through the red brick wall.

"Alright, I'll go next. See you all on the other side!" Kankuro said with a chuckle, then went through the wall just like Kiba did.

They all went one after the other and they met up on the other side with no problems.

"Alright, it's quarter-to-eleven, so we better get on the train now." Kakashi said and they walked over to the bright red train, "I have to sit in the back with a few other teachers, I want you to stay in your groups and don't forget, no jutsu's of any kind unless there is an actual danger." He left them with a small wave of his hand.

"Let's find somewhere to sit, but it doesn't look like we'll all fit into one compartment, so we'll go into our groups." Temari said. Since she was oldest, she gave herself the job as Leader when Kakashi wasn't around.

They agreed and they went into their two groups. They had little difficulty finding two compartments next to each other, because they were one of the firsts on the train.

Temari, Kiba, and Lee went into their cabin and waited patiently for the train to start. Kiba and Lee talked to each other and Temari would add in when she wanted to. Suddenly, the door to their compartment opened. The three looked at the door and there stood a girl about one year younger then them with red hair, and a boy their age stood next to her, looking at his shoes uncomfortably.

"Hello, um...I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if we sat here." The redhead said a little nervously.

Lee smiled and sat next to Temari, who was sitting next to Kiba, "Sure! We would enjoy your company, I am Lee." He said, shaking their hands. The two came into the compartment and put their things away.

"I'm Ginny Weasley and this is my friend Neville Longbottom." She said shaking the other two's hands'.

"I'm Temari and this is Kiba and his dog Akamaru." Temari said introducing herself and Kiba.

The train started to move, and Ginny and Neville sat down. During the long ride they all talked to each other getting to know each other. Temari had said that they were transfer students from Japan. She told them that they would all be entering in their third year. They all got along well and they had become quick friends.

"Do you know what houses you're in?" Ginny asked.

"Houses? What houses?" Kiba asked curiously. Temari and Lee also looked at her wondering what she was talking about.

"In Hogwarts there are four houses, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Gryffindor are what Neville and I are in. Gryffindow is for the brave, Slythering for the ambitious, Ravenclaw is for the intelligent, and Hufflepuff is for the kind."

"I don't know which I'll be in, just as long as I'm not in a house where I don't know anybody." Kiba said.

"Hm...Is there anything else we should know before we get there?" Temari asked the redhead.

"There's always more to know about Hogwarts!" Ginny said and went on to explain to them about all the different classes and the teachers. After a while, Neville interrupted her speach, blushing when the attention turned to him, "We're nearly there...We should put on our robes."

They did as suggested. Temari was the first finished, and she went over to the compartment in front of theirs, where Hinata, Tenten, Kankuro, and Gaara were all seated. She opened the door and they greeted her.

She relayed everything that Ginny had told her to her teammates quickly.

"We're gonna have to keep our focus if we're going to avoid using jutsu." Kankuro said.

"Definitely. We'll have to watch our every move." Tenten agreed.

They talked a little while longer, but Temari looked out of the window and saw the darkened sky, "You really should get into your robes." She told them and left them to do just that.

When they finally arrived at the school and they exited the train. The sight before them astounded them all.

"It looks like a giant castle!" Kiba said.

"Yeah!" Tenten said and now noticed that there were two people talking with Kiba and Lee. The latter took it into his power to introduce the two of them to his other teammates.

"Ginny, Neville, these are our friends Tenten, Hinata, Gaara, and Kankuro. Everyone, this is Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom." They greeted each other and they all walked over to the carriages that would lead them to the school. They all noticed the winged, skeletal horses dragging the carriages.

"What are those things pulling the carriages?" Kiba asked Neville.

"They're called Thestrals." He replied. Neville was then pulled away by Ginny, "We'll see you guys at the castle!" She told them, waving over her shoulder.

"So, we have to go into those things?" Kankuro said, not trusting the Thestrals.

"I guess so. I'm sure they're harmless if they're allowed to bring the students up to the castle." Tenten said climbing into the nearest empty one. "You guys coming?" She asked, and her three companions climbed in.

"We'll meet up at the castle." Kankuro said.

They all agreed and they went into one of the carriages as well.


	2. The sorting

**EDIT: **This chapter has been edited April 2010.

**"Blah" **Is the hat talking  
_"Blah" _Is either Shukaku or them talking in Japanese. Both are rare.

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They arrived at the school in a few minutes. They got out of the carriages and met up with each other outside. They walked into the entrance hall together, ignoring the stares that they received. The school did not often receive new students. When they entered, they were pulled aside by Kakashi.

"Hey, come with me." He told them quickly.

"What's up?" Tenten asked.

"Nothing. We just need to talk to the headmaster before everyone gets settled in and they start sorting the new students." He said while walking into the dinning hall.

The roof was enchanted to look like the sky outside, and it was currently full of stars. The hall had four large tables, they guessed was for the four houses, and there was one table at the end of the room. Some of the teachers were already seated, talking amongst themselves. In the middle there was a man who's gaze held much wisdom, who they knew immediately was the headmaster.

Once he saw them, he smiled and stood up. He walked around the table to greet them on the far right side of the hall.

"Hello, headmaster." Kakashi greeted him.

"Hello! You must be Kakashi, and these are the children?" Dumbledore asked, and the one addressed nodded his head.

"Well, they look like they can handle themselves." He said stroking his beard while looking at the 7 teens. They were all unnerved by his gaze.

"Most certainly." Kakashi affirmed.

"May I have your names?" Dumbledore asked politely. They did as he requested without hesitation, "And I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts. It's a pleasure to meet you all, you may follow me and I will be getting all of you sorted into your houses." He told them, guiding them into a room with a fireplace, chairs and couches, and numerous moving paintings.

And in one part of the room there was an ancient-looking hat on a wobbly stool.

"The Sorting Hat will put you into your houses, Kakashi has already been put in Gryffindor." The headmaster said, walking over to the hat.

"So...The hat choses which house we go into?" Temari asked to be certain that she understood.

"Exactly. You can go first, just come sit on this stool." He said, motionning towards the stool. Temari was hesitant, but did as told. When she put the hat on her head, she heard a voice whispering to her.

"**Well, well, well...You have quite some things burried deep in here..."**

'What?' She thought.

**"I think the best house for you would most likely be...GRYFFINDOR." **The hat shouted out the last part for the room to hear.

"Gryffindor, alright." She was glad to be with the people she had met on the train.

"Now who will be next?" Dumbledore asked, as Temari handed him the hat.

Lee immediately jumped up, "I'll go!" He said enthusiastically and sat on the stool. The hat was put onto his head.

**"Hm...Your determination and bravery are certainly quality's of...GRYFFINDOR."** The hat made his choice.

Lee jumped off the stool excitedly and gave the hat to Kankuro who had volunteered to go next. The puppeteer sat on the stool and listened quietly to the hat.

**"Well...Another from the Sand...Her brother, correct? You know your way around potions, and you're a skilled puppet master...Abilities that aren't easy to acquire...RAVENCLAW."** The hat yelled out his choice. Kankuro stepped off the stool and handed the hat to Kiba who was unnerved by the amount of time the hat took to decide Kankuro's house.

**"Hm...You are quite caring...But also quite cunning, you also have a loyalty to all your friends that isn't seen often...You will do quite well in...GRYFFINDOR." **

Kiba got off the stool with a grin, "Cool!" He said and went next to the other's once again. The hat now sat ont he stool, waiting to be taken by one of the three remaining shinobi.

"Who's next?" Dumbledore asked. Tenten, Gaara, and Hinata remained.

"I'll go." Gaara said and sat on the stool, glaring as the hat covered his eyes.

**"Well...This is a surprise."** The hat whispered.

_"What are you doing here?!" _Yelled out a voice other than the hat's and Gaara's.

**"You must be Shukaku...The demon of the sand..."**

_"That's right! Now state your business in my vessels head!" _

The hat chuckled merrily, **"I am merely choosing your...Vessels...House, and I have made my decision...SLYTHERIN."** The yelled out his house, and Gaara got off the stool. He put the hat on the stool and walked back to the others.

"Alright, I guess I'll go next." Tenten said, sat on the stool and put the hat on her head.

**"A weapon mistress I see...You would do well in all of the houses...But your will to learn stands out the most...My choice will be...RAVENCLAW." **This make Kankuro glad, knowing he wasn't going to be in Ravenclaw alone.

"Miss Hyuuga, it is your turn." Dumbledore said and she came forward. She sat on the stool and put the hat on her head.

**"Well...Hyuuga heir...Shunned...Called weak...You wish for strength and the ability to have pride in yourself...This makes you a candidate for...SLYTHERIN."** The hat called out, surprising the one's who knew the shy Hyuuga. She said nothing as she got off the stool.

"Those are going to be your houses for as long as you'll be here. Now I will show you where you will sit when in the great hall." Dumbledore said, taking the hat back from Hinata. He took it, and the stool, back out into the Great Hall.

Once back in the great hall most of the students were sitting down and talking to each other. Only the first years had yet to come into the hall. Some people looked at them when they entered, and when they turned to talk to their friends, it was obvious that they were being talked about.

Dumbledore gave the hat to Professor McGonagal and she went to place them at the center of the hall. Dumbledore then turned to face them, "These are the house tables, the one to the far right is Slythering, to the left is Ravenclaw, then Gryffindor, and lastly Hufflepuff." He said indicating each table respectively.

"You may go sit at your house tables now." Dumbledore said. He and Kakashi then seated themselves at the head table, while the shinobi separated and sat down at their tables.

They all sat down quietly, but none of them had time to speak before the first years were brought into the hall. They didn't talk because they were interested in the sorting more than anything else. When that was done, Dumbledore gave a speach. He introduced Professor Lupin, who was going to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, Kakashi was going to be his assistant teacher. Hagrid would also now be teaching Care of Magical Creatures.

When he was finished, he clapped his hands making foods and drinks appear on the tables in front of them all.

**Gryffindor (Temari, Lee, and Kiba)**

"How the...?" Kiba said looking at the magically appeared food, "Oh yeah! Never mind then," He said answering his own question. He had forgotten about the whole magic thing.

"Nice Kiba...Nice." Temari said, shaking her head.

They filled their plates and started to eat. They were seated, Lee, to his right Temari, then Kiba. Across Lee was a red-head whom he wasn't acquainted with, Neville sat in front of Temari, then Ginny.

"I've never seen you before, where are you from?" The red-head that sat in front Lee asked them.

"Us? Were from Kon-!" Lee was cut off by Temari who kicked him in the shin, "Were from Japan." She said for him. She glared at him, and he smiled apologetically.

"How can you speak such good English?" He asked once again.

"Kakashi-sensei put a ju-!" Temari then kicked Kiba to stop him from continuing, "The teacher that got transfered with us, Kakashi-sensei, used some magic on us to make us speak and understand english." She said and glared at Kiba this time.

"I so can't wait to get my fan back..." She whispered threateningly knowing that Kiba and Lee heard her. They gulped and looked at each other, knowing that the Suna girl could do a lot of damage with her fan.

"Sorry about Ron's non stop questionning, I'm Hermione Granger." Said the brunette seated next to the one now known as Ron.

"It's fine, I'm Temari. This is Lee, and Kiba." She said indicating the two boys next to her. Akamaru remained hidden inside of Kiba's jacket.

"These are my friends, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter." She said introducing the two people sitting on both her sides.

"Weasley? Are you Ginny's brother?" Temari asked.

"Yeah, she's my little sister." Ron said between bites of food.

"It's nice to meet you." Harry said.

They ended up talking for the rest of the meal before Dumbledore clapped and all the food disappeared.

**Ravenclaw (Kankuro and Tenten)**

"Well, you got your wish." Tenten told Kankuro when the food appeared.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Not to be put alone in a house." She said putting food on her plate.

"Oh, that's right!" He said also getting himself some food.

They talked amiably between each other for a while before Tenten felt the need to get to know other people. To her right was a girl about her age with long light blonde hair and a spastic look to her.

"Hi, I'm Tenten." She said to the blonde.

"Hm? Oh hi, I'm Luna Lovegood." Luna introduced herself.

"This here is my friend Kankuro, we're exchange students from Japan."

"That's nice. Do you enjoy the school so far?" She asked them.

"Well, I love it. It's interesting and there's just so much to learn!" Tenten replied.

"The only reason it is such a good school is because Dumbledore is such a splendid Headmaster."

Tenten found her quite strange, but she's seen stranger so she talked to her for the rest of the time they had while Kankuro simply listened and added his two cents when he wanted to. Soon enough, all were done eating. Dumbledore clapped his hands making the food disappear.

**Slythering (Hinata and Gaara)**

Both of them looked at the food for a moment before they heard a voice next to Hinata say, "Are you going to look at it or eat it?"

"H-huh? Oh um...Eat it." Hinata said and put a bit of food on her plate. Gaara followed suit, but neither of them ate much.

"Alright, well I'm Nott. Welcome to Slytherin." The boy said, introducing himself.

"I'm H-Hinata, and this is Gaara." She said motioning to Gaara who sat on her left.

"Let me introduce you to the gang, Draco, Blaise, Crab, Goyle, Pansy, and me." He said introducing them to the people around them. They had the luck, wether good or not, to sit right in the middle of Draco Malfoy's gang.

They all talked amongst themselves, seeming, to both Hinata and Gaara, to be making fun of a group of Gryffindor students. Neither joined in, neither the kind to say the kind of things that they were saying. The two shared a look. They weren't getting the best first impression of their new house mates.

They only talked to Nott, or well, Hinata talked to him. Gaara remained silent for the entire meal. All talk was about the school. The few questions Hinata had were answered by Nott.

Once all were done eating, Dumbledore clapped his hands making all the food disappear. He gave another speach, mostly about little things. He mentioned the Forbidden Forest, something about Mr. Filch the caretaker, and Quidditch. The last thing was that he wanted them all to sing the school song.

He waved his wand and the words formed in the air. He told them all to sing in any tune and music started to play. The shinobi merely sat there, waiting for the music to finish. Ninja didn't listen to music very often.

When the song ended, Dumbledore clapped the loudest, "Ah, music," He said, "A magic beyond all we do here! And now bedtime, off you trot!"

Everyone went off with their own houses following the prefects. The shinobi were slightly confused as to what they needed to do, but they followed the people they had met. They were nice enough to guide them to their common rooms.


	3. The dorms

**EDIT: **This chapter has been edited April 2010.

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**Gryffindor**

Temari, Lee, and Kiba were following the Golden Twio and Ginny to their common room when Temari was pulled aside by Kakashi. Kiba halted and looked at her, but she waved him on, so he continued walking with the others.

"What is it?" She asked him.

"Here," He gave her the scroll with their weapons, "You can give the others their weapons back whenever you see them, and tomorrow morning at breakfast we're going to have a meeting. We'll meet up in the room we were in earlier. From now on, that's going to be our meeting room." He said and she nodded.

"Good, now I have to talk with Remus about the classes, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Oh the horrors of teaching a classroom of teenagers!" Temari said with a laugh, "Alright, see you tomorrow." She waved at him and hurried off to catch up with the others.

"What did he want?" Kiba asked her once she caught up.

"He wants us to meet him at breakfast for a meeting. It'll be the same room we were in earlier." She said and Kiba nodded, "Also, I got the scroll with our stuff." She whispered making sure no one heard her.

"We're here." Hermione said, who was curious about what they were whispering about, but pushed it aside. They were currently standing in front of a large portrait, "This is the portrait that will lead us to our common room. The password this year is 'Fortuna Major'." She told them as the students from Gryffindor all started to walk into the common room.

"Wow, this is nice!" Kiba exclaimmed as they entered the room.

"Yes, this is the Gryffindor common room. This is where people usually do homework and just relax. There are two staircases, one that leads to the girls' dormitory, and one that leads to the boys' dormitory." Hermione said indicating the staircases.

"Alright, thanks Hermione, we'll see you later." Temari told the brunette. Hermione said goodbye as she, with Lee and Kiba, walked off.

"We'll go to your dorm." Temari said to the two boys heading towards their dormitory. They went to the room for the third years and they found that their trunks had been placed at the foot of the beds. Kiba and Lee were next to each other.

"So, what did you want?" Kiba asked her and she rolled her eyes, holding up the scroll she was given by their teacher.

He exchanged a glance with Lee, "I knew that." He folded his arms defiantly.

She rolled her eyes once again, "Whatever."

"Gai-sensei says that rolling your eyes isn't good for you!" Lee told her.

"That's probably just an excuse to get Tenten and Neji to stop doing it." Kiba replied.

Before Lee could say anything, Temari spoke, "If the two of you are done, I'd like to get my fan back." They said nothing while she bit into her left thumb. She unrolled the scroll to where Lee and Kiba's things were put into it. She wiped the blood from her thumb onto both of the symbols, "_Kuchiyose no jutsu_!" Temari summoned the items using the Japanese words for it. It was lucky that they didn't have very much, kunais, shuriken, soldier pills, common shinobi weapons.

"That's all for now, I'll see the two of you tomorrow morning." She said smiling. She exited the room and luckily, went unnoticed as she went from the boys dorm to the girls dorm. Both hers, and the boys dorms had been empty of people because they were all downstairs, talking amongst themselves about their summers.

Temari found her bed and looked around. Her fan was pretty big, but she guessed that it'd be fine under the bed. She summoned her things quickly, and hid them. The moment that she hid the scroll in her bag she heard the door open. Temari looked at the door and saw Hermione come in, looking annoyed.

"Are you alright?" Temari asked her. She'd seemed happy earlier.

Hermione smiled at her, "Yeah, I'm good."

They talked a little and went to bed soon after.

**Ravenclaw**

Tenten and Kankuro followed Luna all the way to the dormitory. When they reached it, there was a portrait and it asked them, "What comes first, the Pheonix or the flame?"

Neither were sure what to make of it, "Are we supposed to answer the riddle?" Kankuro asked Luna.

"Yes. That way you always learn." She replied.

"What if we get it wrong?" Tenten asked.

"Then you have to wait until someone else comes." Tenten and Kankuro looked at each other for a moment before Tenten turned her gaze back onto the portrait, "I think the answer is that a circle has no beginning."

The door opened.

Kankuro looked at Tenten with a mock suprise, "I didn't know you were smart!" He laughed at her offended expression. They looked around as they entered the dorm. Luna started telling them about the dorm and they listened intently. They sat on one of the couches and after a while Luna bid them good night and went to bed.

"I hope we get out stuff tomorrow." Kankuro whispered to Tenten, making sure none of the other students could hear them.

"That's right, you can't live without your dolls." Tenten smirked at him.

"They're puppets!" Kankuro whispered harshly, Temari had bothered him about that so many times, it was annoying after a while.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Tenten laughed, "We should head off to bed. We're probably going to have a long day tomorrow." She stood up soon followed by him.

They said their good nights and went off to bed. Neither spoke to any of their roomates, and went straight for bed. It had been quite a long day.

**Slytherin**

Hinata and Gaara followed Nott to the dormitory silently.

"You two aren't very talkative are you?" Nott asked them. Hinata smiled and Gaara said nothing.

"Okay, I'm way to curious. What's with the giant peanut?" Nott pointed towards Gaara's gourd. Hinata giggled and Gaara's eye twitched slightly.

"It's a gourd." Gaara said monotonely, despite his annoyance.

"Okay then, what's with the gourd?" Nott repeated his question. The two were silent, trying to find out how to reply to that. Nott understood, "It's alright if you don't want to tell me." He said nonchalantly.

Hinata bit her lip, "It's not that we don't want to tell you..." She tried to explain.

He nodded his head and put his hand to his forehead like a salute, "I understand, capitain." Hinata smiled at him, glad he wasn't upset with them.

They arrived at the door and Nott gave them the password. Nott told them where they were to sleep, when he noticed Draco and his two cronies walking over towards them with a stride of superiority in their steps.

"So you know, he's not as bad as some people make him out to be." Nott whispered to them before Draco was standing before them, "Hey, Draco."

"Hey, Nott." He replied, "Why are you hanging around with...Them?" Draco said with a look of slight disgust. He wasn't liking how much attention they were getting from the entire student body. Did they not have better things to talk about?

Nott rolled his eyes at his 'leader's' antics, "They're good people, Draco. Maybe you should try to get to know them."

This time was Draco's turn to roll his eyes, "Whatever Nott. I think you're going soft on me. Come on." Draco walked away with his two cronies walking faithfully behind him.

Gaara and Hinata looked at Nott. He smiled sheepishly, "He has better days. He just doesn't know you, that's all. He'll come around."

"What is he like on his better days?" Hinata asked him.

"Um...Well, I'm probably the only person to have seen him on a better day. When he's here at school he always acts like he's superior, but that's mostly because he has parents that expect him to be better than the rest." Nott tried to explain.

Hinata nodded understanding what that felt like. Except the fact that Draco seemed to be better at playing the role of superior than she was.

She and Nott spoke for a little while longer and Gaara listened to them. The three headed off to bed when the common room had few students left awake. Gaara pretended to sleep until he was sure he was the only one awake. He then spent the rest of the night sitting on top of the school's rooftop.

**The next morning**

Temari, Lee, and Kiba hurried down to the main hall so that they could get their four camarades and meet with Kakashi quickly so that they might have time to eat afterwards. They met up at the door to the dinning hall. They were some of the firsts arrived so they had little attention on them as they walked around the room to the meeting room.

On their entering of the meeting room, they saw Kakashi sitting on one of the couches reading his book.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Lee said to get their teacher's attention.

He looked up from his book to see all of them waiting for him to speak. He got up and walked over to them, "You gave the scroll to someone else?" Kakashi asked Temari.

She nodded, and Kankuro lifted up the bag he was holding, "It's in here."

"Alright." Kakashi nodded approvingly, "Last night I got a look of the campus and the only place you're going to be able to train will be the Forbidden Forest. You do have permission to train in there, but don't let any of the other students know you're allowed. Also practice using magic, and not only your usual skills. And here are your schedules." He told them.

They all nodded receiving their schedules from Kakashi. They all looked over their schedules and saw that they had quite a few classes together. Gryffindor and Slytherin had Defense Against the Dark Arts together for the first two classes that day, whilst Ravenclaw had History of Magic, then Charms, with Hufflepuff.

"We're with you first Kakashi-sensei." Kiba told his teacher who nodded his affirmation.

"You should all hurry up. You'll have just enough time to eat before classes start." Kakashi told them.

They nodded and left the room quietly and made their way to their own tables. Breakfast had already started a while ago. They all sat down and ate quickly. A few minutes passed and the bell rung to signal the end of breakfast. Hinata and Gaara met up with Temari, Lee, and Kiba. They were going to be guided by Hermione, Harry, and Ron to the Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Tenten and Kankuro followed Luna to the History of Magic classroom.


	4. The Boggart

**EDIT: **This chapter has been edited April 2010.

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**Defence Against the Dark Arts -DADA- Gryffindor and Slytherin-**

The five shinobi walked into the class silently. There in the class was Professor Lupin standing at the front of the class waiting for the class to fill in, and Kakashi sat at one of the two teachers' desks that were in the room. The other desks in the class were for the students. They were made so that three people could sit next to each other. Temari sat next to a window, Kiba next to her, followed by Hinata. Behind Temari sat Gaara and Lee sat next to him. Since the class had yet to start the group of three turned their chairs around so they could talk with the other two.

"So, do you guys think Kakashi-sensei will do a good job?" Temari asked them.

"Personally, I think Kakashi-sensei is a really good teacher." Kiba said honestly.

"At least he's not reading his book." Lee said looking at their sensei. He was just sitting there, hands behind his head looking at the students as they entered the classroom. He had his left eye covered because of his Sharingan.

"What's wrong with his book?" Hinata asked confused.

"It's-" Temari started but was interrupted by Kiba.

"You don't want to know." Kiba did not want Hinata's mind corrupted.

"I'll take your word for it." Hinata accepted it. Kiba knew best after all.

"Over protective much." Temari whispered letting only Kiba hear her.

"Maybe I am." Kiba replied, whispering as well.

Lee looked around and noticed something unusual, "Why is everyone looking at us?" When he said this, the students who were looking at them turned their back to the front. Only chancing a glance at them every once in a while.

The other's just now noticed, "It's either that we're the exchange students, or that we Gryffindor are with you, Slytherin." Temari replied.

"Well that's ridiculous." Kiba exclaimed, not quite believeing that those could be the reasons, but knowing that it probably was the truth.

"Settle down, students." Professor Lupin said getting everyone's attention. The three turned around quickly.

"I, as you know, am Professor Lupin. This is Professor Hatake." Lupin said introducing himself and Kakashi who now stood next to him.

"That sounds weird." Kiba whispered to the two next to him.

"It does." Hinata agreed.

"Professor Hatake. I am so going to call him that from now on." Temari snickered.

"Oh the cruelties! But seriously, the English language is just bizarre..." Kiba said.

"Definitely! But it is useful though, or else we wouldn't be able to understand a word of what everybody's saying."

Kiba was going to say something else, but just then he received a slight nudge. He looked to his right and saw that Hinata was looking straight ahead. He looked as well and noticed that Professor Lupin had stopped talking and was looking at them. Both he and Temari smiled at him guiltily. He said nothing and continued talking.

"Thanks for the save." Kiba whispered to the lavender-eyed girl to his right who only smiled. Now he actually, or well tried to, pay attention.

The first part of the class passed pretty quickly. Professor Lupin and Professor Hatake talked to them and they re-viewed some of the prior years lessons. The Konoha and Suna nins did really well during the reviewing. It was pretty simple as Lady Tsunade had said, they just had to channel chakra into the wand then say the spell. Though Lee had a bit of a hard time he received, surprisingly, some help from Gaara. He did get it since he managed to get some of the chakra from the hidden gates to come out.

There was a bit more trouble in the second part of the class. Professor Lupin pulled out a chest.

"In here students, is the first thing we'll be working on. In this chest there is what we call, a Boggart. Anyone know what that is?" Professor Lupin asked. None of the shinobi had any idea what that was.

Hermione raised her hand, "A Boggart is a creature that turns into your worst nightmare and feeds off your fear." She explained as Professor Lupin picked her.

"Very good Miss Granger, 10 points for Gryffindor. Now the only way to stop a Boggart is by laughter. To do that, you must say the spell 'Riddikulus'. But it'll only work if you are convincing." He explained and then asked everyone to say the chant with him. After a couple tries, he saw fit to let every student try to counter the Boggart.

The shinobi went into the middle of the line, "Uh, do you think we should do this?" Kiba whispered for only them to hear.

"I don't know for sure, but we might as well." Temari replied. None of them knew what the outcome would produce, but they had a feeling it wouldn't be good.

Of the five, Kiba with his over-sized ego, went up first. He stepped up in front of the Boggart ready to take on whatever it was going to show. He himself was surprised to see what his own worst nightmare was.

The first couple images passed quickly. The first was Shino, then his sensei. Both were killed and it looked like they'd been horribly tortured. It could make anyone non-shinobi vomit. That's why most of the class turned away at the scene. After Kurenai came Hinata. The real Hinata quivered. The more people that it showed the more the people were close to him. Just Shino made him quiver, when it reached Hinata his eyes widened. He could do nothing to try and stop it. Next was his dog, Akamaru. He paled slightly. Next was Hana, his sister.

That's what did him in. He closed his eyes and willed himself to sink into his mind. To ignore what was happening before his eyes.

Hinata stepped in front of him making the Boggart change. Now in front of her was her father. He was saying insult after insult, but she ignored them. She managed to get the curse out. Her only motivation was her quivering teammate behind her. A couple of the more squeemish classmates did vomit and Professor Lupin looked shocked. Kakashi made no move to stop it. He had, had a bad feeling about them doing the Boggart, but he couldn't stop it for no reason.

"R-Riddikulus!" Hinata cried out. She pulled Kiba out of the line, "Are you alright, Kiba?" He opened his eyes slowly, "Y-yeah..." His face was still a bit pale.

She decided to stay near to watch her other comrades battle the Boggart. She luckily had been to worried about her friend and hadn't heard anything that her 'father' had said.

Temari was next, "Uh...I don't know if I should." Temari said slowly. Kiba forced himself to smirk, "To chicken?" He still had the energy to annoy her.

Before Temari could retaliate, it was already to late. To late for her to leave the line, ignoring Kiba, and to late for anyone to interfere. Temari was already in front of the Boggart and it started to change. Kiba and Hinata covered their eyes, both knowing what would appear.

Temari stared wide-eyed at the Boggart. It took a few seconds to change into the racoon demon, Shukaku. Temari paled. It wasn't as large as the real one, but it had the same savage, hungry look in its eyes. She knew she had to do something. She raised her wand slowly and tried to yell out the curse, "R-Ri..." But it just wasn't coming out. The rest of the class backed up frightened of the beast.

Gaara went in front of Temari, the beast didn't change, but Gaara grabbed his head in pain. He ignored the words of the real Shukaku, who was currently insulting the Boggart. Gaara quickly said the spell, "Riddikulus."

Temari finally managed to look elsewhere, and she turned her gaze upon her younger brother who's face remained impassive. After that, Lee decided it would be best to skip his turn. As they went to the back of the class, the other students stared at them oddly. That, was not normal.

"Listen, Gaara...Thanks." Temari spoke with her brother, "And so you know, I'm afraid of Shukaku. Not you." She would have liked to of been able to tell her younger brother she loved him, but she wasn't sure Gaara would be able to hear it yet, so she left it at that.

"You are afraid of me." Gaara told her.

"Can you blame me?" Temari countered.

He thought for a bit, "Not really..."

"But again...Thanks." She repeated, letting him know she truly meant it. He merely looked at her a moment, before returning his gaze to the front of the class. The look was enough for Temari though. She didn't need a 'thank you' from him.

Near them, Kiba was talking with Hinata, "As soon as I have time, I'm sending my family, Shino, and Kurenai-sensei letters." Kiba said.

She smiled at him, "I'm sure they're fine, Kiba. Just calm down." Hinata tried to sooth him.

"They should be...Thanks, Hinata. For helping me back there, and I told you, you could stand up to your father." Kiba said grinning at her.

She blushed, "I was concentrating on making sure you were okay, I wasn't really paying much attention to the Boggart..." She explained.

"Well, when talking to your father, make sure you're okay." Kiba used his own, weird logic.

"That...Makes a lot of sense!" Lee told him. Kiba grinned cockily.

The rest of the lesson passed pretty quietly. Everyone was now talking about them more than ever though. It was getting long hearing people talk about them. Most of them heard the same things though. Lee and Temari heard things about their hair, Gaara about his 'eyeliner', Hinata about her 'blindness', and both Kankuro and Kiba heard things about their 'tattoos'. The only one who remained uninsulted was Tenten. But none of them took to much notice about it though.

Once class ended, they met up with Kankuro and Tenten. They told them that their first class was horribly awful, the only interesting thing about History of Magic was that the teacher was a ghost. Their Charms class though was pretty interesting, but they mostly just revised things from the year before.

They separated to eat lunch. Then finished the day with nothing much happening.


	5. The Juuken

This chapter is dedicated to my friend Jessica who pushed me to write this.

**EDIT: **This chapter has been edited April 2010.

**-------**

The next couple weeks passed by with nothing happening. They learnt a few spells but none of them were very useful. It was on a windy afternoon did a certain Hermione Granger come up to them.

"Temari, can I speak with you please?" Hermione asked Temari in the common room. Temari nodded and they went up to their dorm.

"What?" Temari asked a bit impatiently.

"Well..." Hermione started off slowly, "After that whole Boggart incident." Temari stiffened at the mention of that incident, "I kind of got a bit suspicious of you guys. So, I know that there are no wizardring schools in Japan. What are you all really doing here?" Hermione asked.

"Well, it did give you the right to be curious. It was a rather pitiful mistake on my part...Anyways," Temari sighed, two weeks and already found out, "We're here to protect you all from this Dark Lord person. We were asked here by Dumbledore. Normally he wouldn't have, but he and the one who sent us here, believe that the Dark Lord and some of our enemies are going to team up."

"He asked you here? I guess the whole 'enemies of our enemies' kind of applies here...So where is it that you guys really come from?"

"My brother's and I come from Suna, and the other's from Konoha. These villages are hidden near Japan. The one who sent us here is called Tsunade, she's the Hokage, or leader, of Konoha." Temari explained.

"If these villages are hidden and stuff, how did Dumbledore find you?" Hermione asked.

"That, is a good question. I have no idea. But apparently he even asked for us by name, which is why my brother's and I are here. Because we wouldn't ordinarily take a mission given to us by Tsunade."

"No offence, but how are you supposed to help us exactly?" Hermione's scepticism showed on her face.

"None taken. We're ninja." Temari replied getting a laugh from Hermione, "You've got to be kidding!"

A second later Hermione felt something sharp pressing up against her throat. Temari had gotten behind her and put a kunai to her throat, "Don't laugh at a shinobi." Temari said in a very threatening manner.

Hermione said nothing, to scared of the knife against her throat to speak. Temari pulled back and sat on the bed.

"Sorry, I didn't think you were serious." Hermione said, rubbing her neck.

"Sorry I over-reacted." Temari apologized as well.

They stayed in silence for a moment before Hermione remembered something, "What was that thing you were afraid of? The Boggart?"

Temari bowed her head, "Its name is Shukaku. It's the one-tailed demon. It's something I've grown up being afraid of." Temari said, leaving out that it was sealed inside her younger brother.

"It makes sense, it is pretty frightening." Hermione remembered it with a shiver.

"It's even bigger than that. By the way, you can't tell anybody what I've told you. This is a mission that we have to do in utmost secrecy. Nobody can know that we're hired to protect you guys. And I'll know if you tell anyone." Hermione could sense the threat in her tone and nodded.

"Your secrets safe with me. One last thing, who do you think is teaming up with he-who-must-not-be-named?" Hermione asked.

"Who?" Temari asked confused.

"Oh! Uh, the...Dark Lord." Hermione used the same name that Temari had been using.

"We think that either Orochimaru, he's this old dude who's creepy but strong, will join him, or maybe this group called the Akatsuki. Of course both are after world domination, or something of the sort, so either one could gain something by joining him. There's definitely the possibility that both join him to." Temari said, standing up.

"I'll see if I can find anything. It's always possible. But you guys can look to if you want, the library might have something of interest." Hermione said, "And, thanks for telling me."

"It's better that you know. I have to get back to my teammates, I'll tell them you know now, and we'll make sure to check out the library." The two descended back into the dorm where both their groups of friends were waiting for them. They waved at each other and separated.

"So, what's up?" Kiba asked the moment she was near. Temari sat on the chair to Kiba's left while both he and Lee were sitting on a couch.

"She found that there are no schools in Japan. So, I decided to tell her the truth." Temari replied.

"How did she find out so soon?" Lee asked her.

"After seeing the whole...Boggart incident she got curious and searched. She told me that the library might actually be of help, so we should check that out."

"Well, we still have a couple hours before we're forced to bed." Kiba said.

"I'll send a message to Gaara and Kankuro and see if they want to come." Temari said. She went off to do just that.

**Slytherin...**

"I'll be back." Gaara said and went upstairs into the boys dorm. They had received the note from Temari and they had answered that they would meet her there. Gaara went up to ask Nott where the library was. Hinata leant against the wall next to the staircase waiting patiently for his return. Unfortunately, she noticed Draco come towards her, and also noticed that he was alone.

"Hey, the little girlies finally all alone." Draco said with a sneer, stopping in front of her. She said nothing as he continued, "Don't have your little friend here to protect you now do you?"

"W-what do you want?" Hinata's voice trembled at first, then she regained her composure.

"Not much." He leant towards her and her eyes widened, "You're just a pathetic little girl, you know that?"

The word pathetic resonated in her mind. He was much to in her bubble on top of that. The sneer on his face...How she wanted it gone! She lowered herself a bit, and she Juuken'ed him in the stomach. He fell backwards and he blacked out. Luckily the lobby was empty except for a couple people who didn't seem to notice, or care.

She stared at his fallen body for a few moments, not quite believing what she'd done. Suddenly she heard steps, "That's the way to the library." She heard Nott say and turned towards the staircase with her eyes wide.

"G-Gaara!" She called out to him and pointed to the fallen boy, "I-I..." She stammered helplessly. She stopped when Gaara picked up Draco bridal style.

"What happened to him?" Nott asked shocked.

"Come on Hinata." Gaara ignored his question and walked up the stairs to the boys dorm. Hinata followed him. Nott came along to. He walked slowly and calmly, because he knew that Draco deserved whatever it was that she'd done to him.

Gaara put Draco on his bed and turned to Hinata, "You used your Juuken, right?"

She nodded, "Y-yeah..."

"Can you fix him?" She nodded again and went up to the blonde boy.

"Can't you just leave him there to wake up?" Nott asked curiously, sure that he'd merely fainted or something.

"It's a long story..." Hinata trailed off.

"I see." There was a lot of things the two didn't tell him so he was alright with it. Everyone was allowed secrets. God knows he had his own.

"Do you mind...Um...Turning?" Hinata asked him. He shook his head slowly, and did as asked.

"Thank you." She said and turned back towards Draco. "I'm not very good at this, but I do know the Juuken well." Hinata said and rubbed her hands together creating a green glow.

She sat on the bed and put her hands over his stomach. She hadn't damaged him to much. There was just a bit of clogged up energy and the blood passage was blocked. Which is why he'd blacked out. She activated her Byakugan and pressed the points around the clogged up area opening the passage once again.

Draco coughed up blood and his eyes opened slowly. Hinata gave him a napkin not looking him in the eyes.

He wiped away the blood and looked at her, a gaze between hatred and curiosity, "What did you do to me?"

"Um.." She turned to Gaara for help.

"It's a martial arts technique, she attacked one of your pressure points." Gaara replied, it was the simplest way to explain the Juuken, without really explaining it.

Draco nodded, "I'm so sorry." Hinata said from next to him.

He sighed, "It's fine. Just don't do it again." He said the last part sternly.

"Only if you don't call me pathetic again." Hinata said with a smile.

He rolled his eyes but nodded, "It's a deal then." Draco said and coughed again a bit of blood coming out.

"Should I be worried?" He asked the shy girl next to him.

She shook her head, "No, it may happen a couple more times but it's just some extra blood coming out."

Draco nodded and looked at those around him, "Nott? What are you doing here?"

"Long story short, I was pretty much already here when you were brought up." Nott had turned around when he heard Draco speak.

"You feel alright?" Gaara asked Draco monotonely.

"Yeah." Draco said, he thought he'd said that already.

Gaara turned to Hinata, "We should go then. The others are probably already waiting for us." Hinata only then remembered why she had been alone in the first place. Gaara had gotten the directions to the library it seemed.

"Yes, we should get going." She agreed. The two left Nott and Draco to talk amongst themselves while they went to the library to meet up with their other teammates.


	6. The Challenge

AN: This is my first time writting a Quidditch scene and I know it's not very good. Sorry!

**EDIT: **This chapter has been edited April 2010.

**-------**

A month later they had yet to find anything that could give them some kind of advantage. They did find some spells they made sure to learn, thinking they could be useful, or simply practical to know. It seemed as if all information on the bad guys weren't allowed in the school because they hadn't found anything.

Gaara closed the book he'd just finished reading and put it aside. His endless nights awake gave him a lot of time to read, which in some way, was helpful. '_We're not getting anywhere. We're going to have to get into that other part of the library, the restricted area.' _Gaara thought pulling out yet another book from the small pile he had under his bed.

The following day passed as quickly as night. In Gaara's case, excrutiatingly slowly. The night before he decided that he was going to check out the school grounds. He hadn't bothered before, but was getting bored of seeing the same things day after day. It was that friday evening after supper that he took a walk outside. After a while he ended up quite a ways from the school, and he found himself approaching a court of some sort.

It was large and on either side of the field a few yeards into the air there were three hoops on each side. There were also stands where the crowd could sit and watch whatever it was that happened on the court. Gaara looked at the field curiously, wondering what it could be used for.

"You play Quidditch?" A voice from behind him asked. It was none other than Draco Malfoy. Gaara didn't bother to try to figure out why Draco was outside. He looked at Draco impassively and didn't answer him.

"How about we play a game, Sunday? You make your own team and I'll make one." Draco challenged him. It happened sometimes for students to play Quidditch without it being a school match.

Gaara considered this. He had no idea what Quidditch was, but he was sure he and his teammates could do it. Which is why he nodded, accepting the challenge.

"Good, Sunday at two o'clock. Be here." Draco said and sauntered off.

He made his way to the library to find his teammates. He had to tell them that he had just gotten them into some kind of game. It mattered little to him that he had no idea what is was, because he wasn't one to back out of a challenge. Besides, he was tired of hearing Draco talk about his supriority.

"Hey, Gaara!" His sister waved at him as he entered the library. He nodded his greeting and sat down at the table.

"Does anyone know what Quidditch is?" He asked his camarades.

"I do." Tenten said and they all looked at her, "It's the most popular sport in the wizardring world. It's played on broomsticks and it consists of seven players." Tenten explained the basics.

"That's lucky, we have a Quidditch game at two o'clock on Sunday." Gaara said and grabbed one of the books in the center of the table.

"Wait, what?" Kankuro asked bewildered. The others looked just as confused as him.

"Draco challenged me to a game and I accepted." He replied nonchalantly.

"You accepted without even knowing what it was?" His sister sighed.

"I think we should go practice. It's not as easy as it seems." Tenten told them.

"Can we really learn the game in two days?" Kiba asked her.

Tenten nodded, "With our skills, we just need to learn the basics and we should be fine."

"With hard work and dedication we should be able to do anything!" Lee replied and with that they went out onto the Quidditch field. They borrowed the schools' brooms though, seeing as none of them had any.

"For the game, I'm going to make us some brooms." Kankuro said looking at his broom.

"You have no idea what it has in it. It's not just a normal broom you know." Tenten told him.

He shrugged, "I've delt with harder things than making a magic broom." Tenten rolled her eyes but started explaining to them the game.

"First, there are seven positions. There is one Seeker, one Keeper, three Chasers and two Batters. Chaser's are the one's that make the points. The three Chaser's will be Temari, Gaara and I. Chaser's are the one's that try to get the quaffle into those hoops." Tenten said and took out the quaffle, "The two Batter's will be Kiba and Kankuro. The Batter's have these, " She gave them each a bat.

"These are called Bludgers. Your job is to use the bats to hit them towards the opposing players, and to use them to protect your teammates from the bludgers that will be sent towards them by your opponents." They nodded.

"Good, now Keeper is the one who stops the quaffles from going into the hoops. Our Keeper will be Lee. Which means Hinata will be the Seeker. You'll be in charge of catching this," Tenten took out a gold ball with tiny golden wings that were moving fast enough to make them hard to see, "Getting the Snitch, means the end of the game."

"A quaffle scored is ten points, and the Snitch is a hundred and fifty points." Tenten finished.

The others said nothing for a moment, "That's supposed to be simple?" Kiba asked.

"It gets easier to understand with time." Tenten replied.

They practiced for the next couple hours. It wasn't as complicated as they thought. Tenten had put them in the perfect spots. She as a weapon mistress and was always used to catching and throwing objects quickly and her perfect aim was helpful to. Temari knew how to use the wind to her advantage making her much faster and Gaara used his sand to control the quaffle, he hand some grains of sand on the quaffle managing to move it however he wanted to, but still making it look natural.

They had managed to convince Gaara to leave his gourd on the ground to. They were making progrees quickly. Both Kiba and Kankuro were amusing themselves with hitting the bludgers. Lee, as she'd suspected was the fastest of them on a broom, so she'd done well to put him as Keeper. As for Hinata, she was used to spotting things others couldn't.

After they had finished they went back to the library for the hour they had before they had to get to bed.

"Hey Tenten, how did you know all that about Quidditch?" Lee asked the brunette.

"I was reading a book and I saw that I had grabbed a Quidditch book by accident, so I read it." She said with a shrug.

"It was certainly useful. Next time Gaara, know what the thing is before accepting a challenge." Kankuro told his younger brother.

"I knew we wouldn't lose." Gaara replied, not really caring.

That night, Kankuro made his own broomstick. It was a bit more complicated than he'd initialy thought, but he was able to make it easily. The next day, as they went out for training, he brought it with him to test it out.

"Hey! Here's my first broom, I'm sure it'll work." Kankuro said holding up the broom.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see." Tenten said.

They had but an hour, but it was all the time they needed. Kankuro kicked off the ground and the broom flew up. It was faster then the school brooms that was for sure.

"It works!" Kankuro exclaimed stoping the broom to look at his comrades.

"So it does." Gaara said.

"It'll definetely be useful in the match tomorrow." Lee noted.

"We're like a given to win tomorrow. I'm just glad we'll get to beat Malfoy. I hate that prat." Temari said.

"Why do you h-hate Draco?" Hinata asked her.

Temari crossed her legs on top of the broom, putting some chakra into her legs and butt so as to not fall, she raised a finger, "One, he's a pansy."

"Two, he called you pathetic." She said looking at Hinata.

"Three, he reminds me of a certain bastard." She was talking about Sasuke of course. He had left the village endangering five lives, and her and her brother's who'd come to help.

"Four, he's horribly annoying." Temari raised her fourth finger making them wonder how many things she was going to list.

"Five-Hey!" Temari said as a quaffle was thrown at her. Tenten, while she'd been talking, unleashed one bludger, the snitch and had grabbed the quaffle. She had flown up and threw it at Temari.

Temari caught the Quaffle and sat back down on the broom normally. They started practice. An hour later they had landed and put away the balls into the chest they were in.

"So Hinata, is that enough reasons?" Temari asked the Hyuuga

Hinata only smiled, she herself didn't hate the Malfoy. Just didn't like him.

The stadium had a few people sitting down. It seemed people had heard about the Quidditch match of the exchange students, versus the Slytherin. This must have been thanks to Draco. He did not like the attention they were getting, and was most likely hoping that if he beat them, the attention would once again return onto him.

The Shinobi grabbed their brooms and walked into the stadium. None of them thought there'd be people there. They noticed a few people they recognized. Gryffindor was on the shinobi's side, as well as most of Hufflepuff, and a quite a few Ravenclaw, and the rest were on the Slytherin's sidelines.

Gaara knew only two people on the other team, Draco of course, and Nott. Madam Hooch was going to be refereeing the game. Somehow, this had become a pretty popular match.

"Alright, play fair and play clean. Team captains shake hands." She said as the two teams got closer to each other.

Gaara made no move to advance towards Draco, "Come on Gaara, just do it." Kankuro whispered into his younger brother's ear and Gaara advanced. They stared at each other a moment before shaking hands. When they let go, they both turned around and went closer to their teams.

"Mount your brooms." They did as told. Luckily for them, Tenten had also explained what a real game was like, so they knew what to do.

She blew the whistle and they were off.

It was but five minutes into the game did Temari score a goal. The first goal as well. Lee had stopped two shots, and their opponents had stopped two as well. Kiba and Kankuro were doing really well at keeping the bludgers off them. The three Chasers were doing really well. Hinata was still seeking. She saw it once but let it go. She doubted it would be good to win within the first five minutes.

The audience was completely caught in the game. They all knew Slytherin had a really strong team and were surprised that the other team was doing so well. After those five minutes, Lee Jordan decided to take the mike. He knew everyone at the school, even the new students. So he could easily do the job.

The game continued with one goal being made into the Shinobi's goal. With the points now equal, Hinata seached for the snitch. She circled around the stadium calmly. She noticed that the other team's Seeker was Draco. He seemed to still be looking as well.

She heard Jordan announce another goal for them this time made by Tenten. The points were 20-10 for them. They continued to play for a while. Hinata wasn't looking very seriously. When another 10 minutes passed, and the points were 50-20 for them, she decided to search for Temari. When they looked at each other Temari mouthed 'Now'. This meant that Hinata could catch the snitch.

She looked around and spotted it towards her left. In five seconds Gaara scored a point, and in 7 Hinata captured the Snitch. Madam Hooch whistled signaling the end of the game. All of them landed their brooms and they gathered together.

"Well, we won 210-20." Kankuro said. The game had been much easier then they had all thought it would be.

"I bet we could beat any team." Kiba said cockily. That's when the Slytherin team walked up to them. Gaara approached Draco. The blonde looked like he was going to say something rather nasty, but Gaara spoke up before he could. "Good game." He said before walking away.

They could all hear the cheering of the crowd. It was a bit hard to miss. Any time the Slytherin team lost was a moment to celebrate. As they exited the field they received numerous compliments from various people, but they simply thanked them and tried to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Once they got out of the pitch and were heading back towards the school, they met Kakashi, "Hey, Kakashi-sensei." Temari said, reverting back to 'sensei'. Professor was to long.

"Yo. I want to have another meeting tomorrow morning." Kakashi said talking fast. They nodded quickly themselves, knowing he was in a hurry. And he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"He was in a hurry...I wonder what for." Tenten thought aloud.

This meeting was going to be their seconth, having had none between the first one and the one they had just settled for the next day.

"Who know's." Kiba said with a shrug.

The rest of the day passed as quickly as every other. Getting no closer to finding something useful.


	7. The Spell

AN: The last scene is rather Gaara-centric, but I figured that it had to be mentioned sometime. And the couples have finally all been decided. There will be some yaoi and yuri couples, if you don't like that, then don't continue reading this. Thanks to all reviewers as well! You are my motivation!

**EDIT: **This chapter has been edited April 2010. (This is the last edited chapter.)

**-------**

The seven, as promised met up in their meeting room. They waited patiently for Kakashi to arrive, and when he did they stopped talking to one another and listened intently to whatever their teacher would have to tell them. Nobody knew what it was he wanted to tell them, but they knew that they would probably get scolded for their inability to be surreptitious.

"Alright, I called you all here for a couple reasons." Kakashi starting and made sure that all attention was on him before continuing, "The first thing is I'm sure you know, you need to be more discreet." They'd already had several mishaps.

"If in a months time you haven't learnt to be more stealthy, you'll be forced to retrteat from the mission." Shock was eminent from their expressions. They had all considered the mission an honor, everything could change after the mission was accomplished.

"We will make you proud, Kakashi-sensei!" Lee exclaimed.

"Work on it. I expect to see an improvement quickly. Now, for the second reason. I want to know if you have found anything." They shook their heads.

"We haven't found anything that could help us." Temari told him disheartedly. They were searching and trying their bests, but it seemed like the information they were trying to find was just out of reach.

"Well, I've found a spell that might help us." Kakashi grabbed a book from on top of a nearby desk, "But, there are two things about this spell. The first is that the spell is transfering your magic into your opponents body, blocking their magic flow."

"But that means if it were one of use, we'd die." Kankuro said, making a point.

"I'll get to that, the second point is that to do this spell, we need an item that we won't be getting for a year at the least." Kakashi finished.

"But what if we get attacked this year?!" Kiba exclaimed, the thought of them getting attacked so soon frightened him a bit.

"I have received news from sources that our enemies will only be attacking in at least a years time." Kakashi was trying to reassure them that they had no need to worry at the moment.

"What if we get someone non-shinobi to do the spell?" Tenten asked.

"Exactly. It would do no damage to a wizard or witch other than a small strain on their bodies."

"Well alright then, I happen to know a certain girl from this school who's good at magic and knows our secret." Temari told him, they all knew who she meant.

Kakashi's only dilemma was not wanting to expose the secret to anyone. He also didn't want to bring in any of the other teachers, they all already had big parts in the upcoming battle. He to, knew who it was. Temari had told him that she found out a bit and that Temari had told her what was going on.

"Hermione Granger, correct?" He asked the blonde. Temari nodded, "Yeah, she should be able to do it."

"Good then, tell her to study the spell and to practice the incantation, even if she can't do it fully. Here's also a permission slip for one of you to get into the restricted area of the library, like you wanted." Kakashi gave her the book, with a small slip of paper on top of it. The day before they had asked him to give them permission to enter the restricted area of the library after Gaara had told them that it would be best to do so.

"Alright, thanks Kakashi-sensei but one last thing, what's the item? And why is it going to take so long to get it here?" Temari questioned, they were all wondering the same thing.

"The item is this," Kakashi flipped open the spell book Temari was holding to a page with a small piece of paper sticking out. It was the page with the spell in it. On the left page was the spell and how to do it, and on the right page was a picture of the item. The item was a gold chain, and from that chain hung a piece of oval shaped gold, covered with an oval shaped, purple type of gem, on every corner there was a small piece of gold keeping the gem firmly in place.

"The gem is one of the rarest type of gem, the Sugilite, and there is but one of these necklaces. Tsunade has sent a squad to get it, but they have many different things to do before they can actually get to it. And to make it seem nonchalant when someone brings it here, that person'll come at the beginning of next year and come in as either a new student or a teacher." Kakashi explained to them.

Tenten had a question, she was rather curious to know the answer of, "Why do we need the item to do the spell? It doesn't happen very often that a spell requires an item to work."

"It's because a Wizards magic is in every part of their bodies. For us ninja our chakra is created in our stomachs and distributed everywhere else. The spell takes the users magic and transfers it into somebody elses body, but if the magic is everywhere it would cause unecessary strain on the user. And the spell probably wouldn't work. What the Sugilite does is gather the magic to make the spell easier to use." Kakashi tried his best to explain, and Tenten nodded, satisfied.

"Now it's about time you all head back to your classes. Any news and come tell me." Kakashi said, dismissing them.

They all nodded, "Alright Kakashi-sensei. I'll make sure to tell Hermione." Temari said closing the book and putting it away. With that said, they walked out of the room and went to their respective places.

**Gryffindor**

Lee, Kiba, and Temari sat at the Gryffindor table, surrounded by people they have come to good terms with. Temari sat next to Hermione and started talking to her. At first about just random things, then she decided to just get it over with.

"Hermione?" Temari said as the brunette finished saying something that Temari wasn't really paying attention to. As she caught her attention, she continued, "I need to talk to you after supper." She peeked Hermione's attention, but she was going to be patient and wait until after supper to find out what it is.

"Alright, is it very important?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, very crucial." Was Temari's short reply. Hermione smiled and nodded, confirming that she'd be there.

The rest of dinner past by quickly enough. Hermione was rather excited to know what Temari wanted to tell her. She was glad to know that Temari could come to her with important things. Hermione considered her to be her closest girl friend, and she's happy to at least think that Temari feels the same.

They all went back to their respective common rooms, and Temari told Kiba and Lee that she was going to talk to Hermione. And so, the two girls went up to their room. Hermione sat on her bed, and Temari stood in front of her, arms crossed, and she seemed to be thinking something over. She opened her bag and took out the book. Hermione looked at her questioningly. She waited to be told what it was, but then she saw the title of the book, 'Spells of the Middle Age'. Hermione had never seen this book, which she found shocking.

"That book comes from the restricted section doesn't it?" She asked. She knew every available book in the library. If there's a book she's doesn't know, then it's from the restricted area.

Temari hadn't known this, but she supposed that that would make sense. "I guess so." She said, shrugging lightly, "Here, read this." Temari gave her the book, and opened it to the right page.

Hermione quirked an eyebrow, but read it anyways. She finished quickly, then looked at Temari curiously. "I suppose you're already forming the right conclusion." Temari said.

"I'm guessing, but the only thing I don't understand is, why wouldn't one of you do the spell?" Hermione asked Temari.

"The thing is, us ninja we don't have 'magic', in a way we do, but we call our magic, chakra. But unlike you wizards, we have a limit of chakra, and it's with that chakra that we can live."

"Ah, so if you were to put all your chakra into someone elses body, you'd have no more left, and then you'd..." Hermione didn't finish that sentence.

"Yes, if it were a ninja who would use the spell, that ninja would die." Temari confirmed Hermione's theory, "We need to know, would you be willing to use this spell?"

Hermione smiled, "Of course I will! I suppose the reason this spell is so useful is because if we go up against other ninja's then it would be a good spell to use against them, right?" As she said this her smile disappeared, "That means I'd..." She shivered at the thought that by using this spell on another ninja they would die.

Temari nodded, "Yeah. But it's unavoidable. You will be doing us a big favor by doing this."

Hermione brought her legs up to her chin, "A battle is going to happen, wether we like it or not, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so. But I though wizards were somewhat accustomed to battles." Temari said. She'd read somewhere that wizards battled each other. She thought it happened rather often. Though, maybe the students weren't used to it, perhaps battles are against the rules or something.

"We don't really have battles. What you're most likely thinking of is wizards duel, it's two people facing off, it's not nearly as violent as a real battle. And even wizards duels are uncommon in these times. It's just...Everythings going to be so difficult, and what if, what if we don't win? What will happen to everyone then?"

Temari wasn't one for pep talks, but she was going to try anyways, "Hermione, 'what if's' are for the weak and insecure, and I know you are neither of those." Temari noticed Hermione's still doubtful look, so she decided to be less subtle, and to be nicer about it. "Look, I know things may look bad, but you have to consider looking on the bright side. We have so many strong Wizards on our side, it would be hard to lose!"

Hermione smiled at her thankfully, "Thanks, I guess my feelings got the better of me. You're right, I'm sure we'll be able to win! And don't forget, we have strong ninja on our side as well!"

"Now that's the right attitude to have!" Temari grinned, "But about the spell, I'm sure you saw that there is an item needed to do it, we'll only be getting it next year. So the spells not of much use at the moment, but at least we found something. We've been looking for ages, but we haven't found any solid information." Temari sighed.

"It's unlikely that you'll get much information on You-Know-Who in the library. All information on him has been banned. And no one wants to talk about him, he did some horrible things. Many people died from his hand, and more so from his followers hands."

Temari paced the room, "But that's the thing. We don't even know who his followers are. The one's from the wizardring world stay well hidden. If we really tried, we could probably find out who they are, but we don't have time for that. And we have no clue who's joining up with him from our side. It could be Orochimaru, or maybe the Akatsuki! For all we know, it could be both. It's frustrating how clueless we are. Information is what we need, but getting it is difficult."

"Well, as ninja, how did you go about getting information? I'm sure you didn't go looking through books." Hermione asked.

"We usually send someone into the enemies territory to find out more about them. But yet again, we'd have to find them first. We have good people for tracking, but we're already a lot of ninja here. The one's specialized in tracking that we have here are Hinata, Kiba, and Kakashi. But, since they're all part of the school in one way or another, they can't just leave. And besides, where would they look?" Temari stressed out.

"Temari, you need to calm down. You were just telling me that we're going to win, do you not believe your own words?" Hermione stood up and faced the blonde kunoichi.

She stopped pacing and looked at the brunette, "You're right. As long as we win in the end, the journey to get there can be as tough as it needs to be." Hermione put a hand on Temari's shoulder and squeezed lightly, smilling.

"You see! Everything going to be al-" The door swung open, and in came tumbling Kiba and Lee.

Temari turned around with a frown on her face, "What the hell are you two doing? This is the girls dormitory!" Both Lee and Kiba had nervous looks on their faces. They stood up slowly.

"Well, Kankuro wants to talk to you, so Lee decided that he would come get you, but then I wanted to stop him, to remind him that we can't get into the girls dorm. The stairs came out from under us, but we made it anyways!" Kiba smilled sheepishly, though inside he was proud of himself for making it.

"It was a youthful run, and we did what most thought impossible!" Lee agreed.

"Kiba, Lee, this better be important, or else." She threatened before going downstairs to see her younger brother.

Temari saw her brother, he hadn't really prepared himself for the day yet. He stood without any of his purple face paint on, and his hair looked disheveled. He held a letter in his left hand. And he had an exasperated look on his face.

The sand nin frowned, "What's going on Kankuro?" She asked. He motionned for them to sit down in the less crowded area of the room.

He handed her the letter in his hand, "Here, read this."

She took it hesitantly, and read the letter quickly. As seconds passed, her hands started to shake, and her shoulders slumped, the more she read, the more she looked aggravated. Finally she stopped reading, and looked at her brother, "This can't be. They wouldn't do that...They can't possibly expect us to accept!"

"I've been thinking it over, and I think that they made the right decision." Kankuro spoke slowly.

She glared at him, "I am not letting Gaara become Kazekage at the age of 13! He's much to young!"

"Temari, we both know that neither you or I can do the job. Gaara is the best person in Suna qualified for such a title." Kankuro tried to reason with his sister.

"Yes, I'll admit, he's probably the strongest person in Suna at the moment, but don't you see? They destroyed him as a child, and now, when they realize they can't hurt him, they want to use him! They want to use him for their own selfish reasons! All those god damned old bastards!" Temari only cursed when she was angry, and she was furious.

"Temari! You have to respect the elders!"

"Yes, the same elders who traumatized my little brother. That's who I really want to respect." Sarcasm dripped from every word like venom.

"I understand, but this can help him! It'll help people realize how much of a good person Gaara's becoming, and it'll help Gaara be more friendly!" Kankuro sharply replied.

Temari sighed, "I know that Kankuro, but can't they put someone else? For a couple years at least?! He's a child, and not only that, he's my baby brother and I'm not letting him be dragged into such things! Not at his age! People might even respect him less, and people will probably lose all respect for the elders!" She shook her head and stood up as she spoke.

"I completely understand where you're coming from. At first, I thought the same thing, but then I realized something. Though they want our opinion on wether Gaara should be Kazekage or not, it's up to him to decide. He's going to want to do this, so that he can prove that age doesn't matter, and that though everyone shunned him, he'll do what he can for his village. For our village. Would you really want anyone else to be the Leader of our village? If we're going to live by someone's rules, shouldn't they be the rules of someone we trust? And someone we know will do a good job?"

"I suppose you're right. But he's still so young!" Temari wouldn't let that go, she understood what Kankuro was talking about, but she really thought that they should wait a little while.

"Two things about that, the first is that Gaara's powerful, and he's very mature for his age. He can do the job, no matter the stress that comes with it. And the second thing, which I'm sure you didn't bother to let your brain register, they said we can wait until our mission is done. Kakashi-sensei said that was a whiles away still. They'll put Ibiki in his place, as a temporary Leader, and during the summers Gaara will take his rightful place. As Kazekage." Kankuro finished.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she barely managed to push them back, "I just...I just don't want him to get hurt anymore! He's been through so much...And yet, the Elders just never leave him alone!" Kankuro hugged his elder sister to try to calm her. Her worries were easily understood. Gaara's life had been long and cruel, but now, he had the chance to let others make up for their mistakes. This way, maybe Gaara can get the respect he deserves.

Lee and Kiba stared at each other. Lee cried, "How youthful! You care so much about Gaara, it's so beautiful!" He hugged Kiba, who tried to push him away, uselessly.

"Yeah, it's nice to know that he has people who care about him. He really does deserve it. Gaara had his creepy moments...But he really is a good person." Kiba spoke slowly. Though it's true, his first impression of Gaara had been fear, after a while he came to admire him.

Temari pulled away, smilling, "So? When are we going to tell him?"

"Well..." Kankuro looked away pointedly, "I kind of had Tenten go get him and Hinata. I thought we should tell him when everyone was together."

Temari lightly punched his shoulder, "You knew I was going to agree!"

"I wasn't a hundred percent sure, but I decided to try my luck." Kankuro grinned. A knock came from the door to the common room, "And that must be them!"

Lee jumped off Kiba, and ran to the door and swung it open, "Hello my youthful companions!" Before him stood, Tenten, Hinata, and the person of the hour, Gaara.

"So? What's is it that you wanted us to meet up for?" Tenten asked Kankuro.

"Well, Temari and I have news for Gaara, and we thought it would be nice if everyone would be together when we told him." Kankuro smiled.

Gaara walked forward slowly, and tilted his head slightly, "What is such good news that you had to bring everyone here?"

Temari and Kankuro looked at each other, and nodded, "I got an interesting letter this morning from Ibiki-sensei. He told us that the Elders wanted us to ask you something." Kankuro stalled purposely.

"And?" Tenten, Kiba, and Lee asked. Even though they already knew, the suspence to see Gaara's reaction was intense.

Temari finished up for her brother, with a brilliant smile on her lips, "They want you to be the new Kazekage!"

The result was instantaneous. Hinata gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, Lee, Kiba, and Tenten held their breath, Temari and Kankuro were smilling, and Gaara...Gaara was speechless. His eyes had widened a bit from the shock.

A few seconds passed and Gaara spoke, "They want me...To be the new Kazekage?" He needed to make sure this wasn't some kind of joke before even considering it.

They nodded, "Yeah! They know you're young, but they, and we, think that you can do it!" Kankuro exclaimed.

"Kazekage...It's a big responsability, and I am young..." Gaara mused to himself.

"We don't expect you to answer us right away. We just thought we should let everyone know at the same time." Temari smiled, it was a big decision to make.

"She's right, you can take all the time-" Kankuro stopped as Gaara interrupted him.

"I'll do it. I'll be the new Kazekage." Gaara nodded his head, "You can send a letter to Ibiki later to tell him my decision." Though Gaara tried to make it seem nonchalant, the others felt it necessary to congratulate him, and fuss over it. Gaara had a small smile, nearly not there, but there none the less. They all seemed genuinely happy that he was going to be the new Leader of Sunagakure. It was a good feeling knowing that people were proud of you. And knowing that two of them were your siblings.

Later, Lee managed to get close to Gaara and he whispered something to him, "Gaara, they really care about you. It must be wonderful to have siblings who care about you so much. They spent quite a deal of time deciding wether it would be good for you or not. Do you want to know what they said?" Lee smiled.

Gaara looked at him slowly, interested, "They said that they didn't want you to get hurt anymore."

Lee left him after that. And he spent the rest of the day in his own thoughts. It was all so shocking to him. Feelings were bubbling. He was proud to be Kazekage, but what Lee said, it touched a different nerve. He wasn't sure, but he thought it was happiness. Joy, knowing people cared for him so deeply.


	8. The Enemies

AN: Sorry it took so long! Here's the answer to a couple questions. The positions of the enemies! Or well...One of them! You'll see...

* * *

**The Sound**

Orochimaru walked around the graveyard silently. He decided to leave Kabuto in Otogakure to supervise everything there, whilst he went to meet his old friend with the Sound Five. This old friend of his was none other than Voldemort, or as Orochimaru insists on calling him, Tom.

Their meeting had been quite an accident. Orochimaru had been looking for an enchanted item, that Tom had been looking for as well. This item was Gryffindor's sword. The sannin had heard it posessed great power, and seeing as he couldn't find the other sword he was looking for, went looking for this one.

Tom had been looking for something else to use as his Horcruxe. When they met, Tom had been fascinated with what Orochimaru could tell him of the ninja world. They had made plans. Plans that could of lead them both to greatness. But then the sannin had found out that Tom had gotten himself destroyed by a one year old child.

Orochimaru knew he wasn't dead. He was much to powerful to die like that. But he did know that it would take many years before Tom returned to his full power. So the Konoha nin left his village and continued trying to learn every jutsu and finding one for immortality. He was biding his time until he was contacted.

And he was contacted. As soon as Tom had his body back he had all his best followers contacted. And Orochimaru was one of the firsts on his list.

The plans for greatness remained in their minds. They were good plans. Tom was the greatest wizard of the wizardring world, (Perhaps not greater than Dumbledore, but he wasn't spoken of) and Orochimaru the best of the ninja world (Not greater than Madara, but he was also unspoken of).

The sannin continued his trek through the graveyard. It was so calm...

"Lord Orochimaru." The only female he brought with him came to see him, "Lord Tom wishes to speak with you." Orochimaru had forced the Sound Five to call him by his real name as well.

"Good." Was all he said as he returned to the home they were staying in. Tayuya walked off, going to go train with her teammates.

Within a couple minutes he stood before his partner, "Yes?"

"We need to send some of our recruits to Azkaban." Was all the snake-like man said.

"Azkaban is your wizard prison, correct?"

"Yes. Some of my best are currently in custodyy there. We need to have them rescued. The Dementors are already on my side, it will not be too difficult."

"Alright, I will send Sakon and Kidomaru." Orochimaru said.

"Only two?" Voldemort was curious because he knew that the sannin knew that Azkaban is the worst prison in the world. There has never been an escape before, none except for the escape of Sirius Black. It is tightly guarded by the Dementors, who are creatures that leave you drained of all energy. Having them on their side didn't mean much. They wouldn't bother to see on who's side they were on before trying to get the souls out of them.

"My underlings are very well trained." Orochimaru said with a chuckle and left the room in the blink of an eye.

Tom grimaced, he hated when the other did that. It was unnatural for someone to disappear without the crack of an apparition or disapparition.

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**The Akatsuki**

Everyone is curious as to know what the Akatsuki will do during the inevitable battle. Orochimaru allied himself with Voldemort, whilst Konoha and Suna have allied with Dumbledore (Or the good side). Nobody knew that Pein had his own friend. Someone he met long ago. Both he and Konan were quite fond of him. Pein was currently holding a meeting to discuss the upcoming battle.

He and Konan were at the end of a long table, and seated around the table were Itachi, Deidara, Sasori, and Hidan. The others were off on missions.

"You all know now what our position will be during this battle." Pein spoke, after telling them what he knew.

"Can't we just stay out of this battle? I mean, it already seems like our side is going to win anyways." Hidan said boredly.

"You haven't been listening have you? Our enemies have an alliance." Sasori told the Jashinist.

"Oh yeah..." Hidan said now thinking of what they had just talked about.

"Now a couple of you are going to join the school-" Pein started but was interrupted by Deidara, "Wait what? Why?" Pein glared at him, and he turned away pouting.

"Has anybody been listening?" Konan asked in a threatening tone that easily says 'I'm pissed off so say whatever you need to say to make me happy'. She was very good at using it to her advantage.

Itachi sighed, "You want Deidara, Hidan, and I to join the school so that we can give the letter to your friend. That way they'll know that Akatsuki is on their side." Itachi repeated what Pein said earlier.

"Goody-two-shoes." Deidara muttered and the Uchiha glared at him. The blonde glared right back.

"It's like teaching a class of bad kids." Konan whispered to Pein who nodded, glaring at all of them.

"You also want us to spend our time until next September learning magic so that we'll be ready for the year. Also, if any of the one's going to the school get expelled you will personally kill them." Sasori finished.

"Good." Pein said, and turning to Konan added, "All classes have a couple good kids."

* * *

**Azkaban-**

The largest, and most feared prison of the world is Azkaban. It is situated on an island in the middle of the ocean. It could be a factor as to why people don't try to escape, but the biggest reason are the guards. They are no ordinary guards. They are some of the most feared creatures of the wizardring world. These creatures are called Dementors. Being near one sucks the happiness from your very soul. It goes cold, and it feels like you will never be happy again.

This, the two sound ninja's had been told before their departure. They, Sakon and Kidomaru, were camping on the land nearest the prison. It had been a while since they were sent, but they were finding it more difficult than expected. The prison was much larger then they had thought, and were having trouble trying to find the people they're looking for. The Lestrange's, Dolohov, Mulciber, Rookwood, and Travers.

Kidomaru was sending some of his spiders into the building and found out where most of them were. They were missing only Dolohov's location. Sakon had stolen a few wands from a couple unsuspecting wizards. He would give them to some of the Death Eaters, that way they'll be more useful during the escape.

As night fell, the final spider arrived. Kidomaru marked the spot where he was on a map that the two had made. They were in luck, all of them were in the same area. But unluckily, it was in the more guarded part of the prison. They wouldn't try to get the Dementors to back off, it would be a waste of time. Sakon was planning on diverting their attention to some of the other prisoners. Any soul would be good enough for them.

"Alright, remember the plan?" Sakon asked his teammate, rolling up the map and putting it away.

"Yep." Came the quick reply.

The two sped off towards the prison. Clouds were scarce, but they managed to stay well hidden in the darkness they had. As the prison came into view, the two slowed down. They separated and went into two different directions. They arrived at two corners of the building and leant against it, waiting. It didn't take long, a mere thirty seconds, and a couple Dementors were coming out of the prison.

As the Dementors grew nearer they could feel the effects. Fortunately, these effects did very little to bother them. They felt the cold, and that happiness had left the world. But happiness had been a rare emotion for both of them, and they felt no big difference. They continued with their plan.

The two jumped up when they were sure that the Dementors had felt their presence. At the same time, the two threw paper bombs at the building. It stuck onto the wall and the explosion echoed along the waters. The wall had cracked. They then withdrew their wands and blasted at it. When they knew that the wall was near collapsing, Kidomaru pulled out an arrow and shot it at the most cracked part of the wall.

They could hear the screams of the prisoners and the Dementors were moving quickly. As the smoke cleared and the rubble had fallen, they landed on one of the numerous floors. There waiting for them, were the seven they had to rescue. The girl with long black hair, and lidded eyes let out a crazed laugh.

"Finally the Dark Lord has come to free us!" She yelled out. The others weren't as peppy as she was though. They looked tired and really messed up. Sakon gave the wands to those who looked most fit to wield them.

Kidomaru turned around and pointed his own wand at the Dementors that were coming nearer to them, "The Dark Lord says you may do with the other prisoners as you see fit." He knew they understood, because within moments they had turned around and headed towards the screams.

The seven Death Eaters went as near to the water as they could without getting wet, and apparated. Only at the thin line between the water and land can you apparate. Sakon and Kidomaru returned to the main land. They had a couple others to find as well. They would look up on the progress with the giants, and were told to find Karkaroff and finish him off.

Day by day, their army was growing larger and stronger.


	9. The Training

**Chapter 9 - The Training**

The Christmas break past by quickly enough. The Shinobi had stayed at the school because they knew it would be easier for them to meet up and train, and such if most of the students were going to be gone. There was only a couple days until the rest of the students were to return, and they'd already all finished their homework.

They trained often enough, but they usually split up into groups. Only 2, or 4 of them would go out to the forest at a time to train. They'd been doing it since the beginning of the year this way, but to treat themselves, they decided to all go at once. They wouldn't be missed, and they'd prepared excuses if they were. It had been a while since they could all meet up and freely talk about their real lives.

The seven shinobi had put together a meeting time and spot in the forest. They were to meet up that night. They were all in their respective common rooms. Temari, Kiba, and Lee were sitting down in the corner of their common room. They were talking about who was going to spar with who that night, when suddenly Lee told the two he would be back in a second and walked over to Hermione, who was doing homework alone. Temari and Kiba watched him confused, but let him do what he wanted to. The two shrugged their shoulders and continued to discuss fighting strategies.

Lee sat down next to the brunette who had stayed at the school along with her two best friends under Dumbledore's orders, "Hello Hermione!" He greeted her enthusiastically.

She smiled at him, "Hi Lee." She closed her book, but kept her pointer finger in it to keep her place.

"I'm not sure you know this, but my friends and I have been going into the Forbidden Forest to train since the beginning of the year." He paused and waited to see what she would say.

"Yes, I've noticed." She said with a nod.

"Since the beginning of the year, we are told that the forest is dangerous, but we've never noticed anything out of place. Do you know why they say it's dangerous?" Lee asked her.

Hermione looked thoughtful, "I'm actually surprised that you haven't seen anything...-"

"We have seen things, but they've never done anything that could be classified as dangerous." Lee interjected.

Hermione looked surprised, "Oh? What have you seen?"

"Tenten told us that one of the creatures are called Thestrals. We know those aren't dangerous." Lee said.

"Can you all see them?" Hermione asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure wether or not she truly wanted to know the answer.

"Death is a part of what we do." Lee said calmly. When he had first decided to become a shinobi, he was hesitant because he wasn't sure he would be able stand the sight of death, especially by his own hands. But once he figured out that his passion, his future, was to protect his village, he knew he would be able to bear the weight of death.

"Oh..." She wasn't sure what to reply, so she returned to their previous subject, "No, Thestrals aren't dangerous unless provoked. What else have you seen?" She proded.

"The only other thing we have seen is a creature called...Oh yes, Centaurs." Lee said, trying to remember what they were like.

"You've met the Centaurs? And they don't mind your presence?" She asked, shocked. Her few experiences with the Centaurs had not been very pleasant at all, certainly unwelcoming.

"Well...At first they did, then we explained to them why we were training. They didn't really listen to us at first, they told us if we wanted to train, to do it on someone elses land." Hermione nodded her head understandingly and Lee continued, "But once we told them that we were going to use our training to go up against Orochimaru, they suddenly changed their mind. Apparently he is their enemy as much as he is ours."

"Orochimaru...He is the one who can summon snakes and steals people's bodies, right?" She knew the answer though. She prided herself in being one of the few people who knew so much about shinobi. She had managed to get Temari to tell her as much as possible about them. The things that they could do without a wand, it's like learning that Wizard's are real all over again.

"Yes! You have managed to retain a lot of what Temari has told you." Hermione smiled modestly.

"Are you training again tonight?" She asked.

"Yes, we are." Lee said, wondering where this was going.

"I was wondering...Well...If it's not to much to ask of course..." Hermione stuttered and Lee waited patiently for her to say what she wanted to, "Would it be alright if I, perhaps, went with you all tonight?" Despite her difficulty in bringing it up, she looked at Lee with a fiece determination in her eyes to get her way.

Lee thought about it before turning in his seat a little, "Temari? Kiba? Can she come with us?"

Hermione was going to tell him that they probably wouldn't hear them since they were on the other side of the room, but Temari turned to look at them, "Sure." She turned back around and continued talking with Kiba. That's when she remembered Temari telling her that Shinobi had advanced senses, especially compared to normal humans.

Lee turned his gaze back to the brunette and relayed what Temari said to her, "I'm glad!" She said smiling. She was very excited to be able to see them all in their comfort zones. A person is only really themself if they are where they are most comfortable.

* * * * *

Hermione was right to believe it would be exciting, but she hadn't expected it to be so violent. They would be able to get hurt so easily, but they always dodged at the last second. They were all so amazing in her eyes.

The brunette sat on a branch in one of the numerous trees of the Forbidden Forest. They paired up and sparred until they felt like stopping. The seventh person sat next to Hermione on the branch. She guessed it was more for protection than anything else, they could probably do a three way fight if they wanted to. But she was grateful. With all those weapons flying about (Thanks mostly to Tenten), she liked knowing someone with the ability to protect her would do just that if need be.

But with their talents, Hermione doubted that their aim would go off enough to hit her.

At the moment, she was watching Lee spar with Kankuro. Further away, Temari was sparring with Hinata, and Tenten with Gaara. Kiba sat next to her, commenting on the battle between Lee and Kankuro.

"See, both of them are offensive when it comes to fighting. But Lee is more predictable than Kankuro because Lee's basic mode of fighting is Taijutsu. Kankuro uses his puppet, and as you can see, it has weapons hidden in it. Because of Kankuro's unpredictability, Lee has to go on the defence. One wrong move on his part would get him poisoned. Though with his speed, Kankuro will have a job trying to get him." Kiba explained to her.

"So, if Lee is going to beat Kankuro, he'll have to get through his puppet, and if Kankuro wants to win, he'll have to outspeed Lee." Hermione summarized.

"Exactly!" Kiba beamed at her. The two watched the battle progress.

She was extremely amazed, to say the least. She was surprised. If she was honest with herself, even when Temari showed her abilities a bit a few months back, she had doubted. None of them looked quite capable. But now...She would not doubt any of them, and that she was certain about.

She had seen Temari battle Kiba a little earlier on that night. Temari, the girl with the attitude, was such a graceful fighter. Hermione loved her fan to. Of all their weapons, it was probably her favorite. As for Kiba, she had always known him to get along well with others, but she hadn't realized to what extent. His ability to work well with others, not only showed itself when he worked with Akamaru, but even when working with his teammates.

She'd watched the spar between Hinata and Tenten quickly after. Hermione had been afraid for Hinata, but only for a moment. Tenten's precision with both her weapons, and all her movements was perfect. All of her throws were dead-center. Watching all those weapons soar towards Hinata had scared Hermione. But Hinata had dodged them all with such fluidity. With the help of her Byakugan, which Lee had explained to her, she wasn't hit once.

She was not disappointed as she watched Lee and Kankuro fight. It was not only Lee's speed that stood out to Hermione, but also his strength. He just kept on going. Even when it seemed like Kankuro had the upper hand, he would come back around and make it equal again. As for Kankuro, he was extremely calculative. There was no doubt that he truly belonged in Ravenclaw. He never needed to think twice, he was always certain about his next move.

"Sometimes our spars can last until daylight." Kiba told her, when she remarked on how neither seemed to be getting the upper hand for more than a brief moment.

After a couple minutes Gaara came into view, "Tenten would like to spar with you." He told Kiba.

Kiba grinned, "Alright!" He jumped off the tree and landed safely on the ground.

Gaara nodded at him, and jumped up into the tree and sat where Kiba had been previously. Akamaru poked his head out of Kiba's coat excitedly, "Later, Hermione!" He called over his shoulder. And with the blink of an eye, he was gone. Hermione looked at Gaara for a moment, then returned her gaze to the fight in front of her.

In half an hour, Kankuro called it quits, "I'm fuckin' tired...I'm done for tonight, I think." Kankuro told Lee, who nodded.

"It is getting quite late isn't it?" Lee said looking up at the sky to deduce what time it was. It was nearly one am.

"Kankuro, I will take your place then." Gaara said, getting off the tree and approaching his brother.

"Okay, I'm sure he still has energy. Damn, you're like the energizer bunny." Kankuro said, noticing that Lee was excited at the idea of a fight with Gaara.

Kankuro joined Hermione on the branch and they both watched quietly, and tiredly, the two spar together. Kankuro was happy to see it much more tame than their first fight.

Gaara had been the only of the seven that Hermione had yet to see in a fight, and she wasn't surprised to see that he was just as amazing as the others. But she was surprised to see sand defending him. She guessed that it was either some kind of Jutsu, or perhaps a blood-line limit, like the Byakugan. What stood out to her about Gaara, was his calmness throughout the fight. He was fearless. Nothing fazed him whatsoever.

That night, Hermione realized something. The Wizardring world may have hope in Dumbledore, Harry, and the Ministry, but she knew that they could also have hope in these Shinobi. She knew now, that with them on their side, they had that much of a better chance at winning the innevitable war.

*****

AN: Hiya! Here's the new chapter. It's basically a filler chapter. I put this because I decided to put up a chapter kind of, dedicated to the Shinobi. Some chapters are more oriented on certain characters, and I did this to make it more equal. If ever you, the reader, finds I'm putting to much light on a specific character, tell me so that I can put my attention equally among them all.

Pushing that to the side, I am putting this story on hold for a little while. Don't worry, not to put my attention elsewhere, but to put it on the first few chapters. They are terribly written, so I'm going to be editing them, and re-posting them. The first one is already edited, but I'm going to wait until I'm completely done my editing before posting.

Thanks to those who managed to get to this chapter though, despite the first few chapters terribleness (New word...). The next chapter shouldn't be out in to long though, I already know what I'm doing with it.

Owari,  
MewMew


	10. The News

**Chapter 10 - The News**

"The students will be returning to the school tomorrow." Kakashi said, "So, I'll make sure that you are all the firsts to know what is going on. And more of course."

They were having another meeting. Kakashi had been gone for the Christmas break and it seemed as if there was much he had to tell them. He'd only returned that morning and had sent them all a message to meet him at lunch time. They were all seated besides Kakashi, who stood in front of them, and Gaara who stood on the side of one of the couches that some of them were currently sitting on.

"What have you found out?" Kiba asked him.

"I'll start off with the break out at Azkaban. It happened early December, but none of the newspapers mentioned it. The ministry is keeping low on it." Kakashi started off.

"Azkaban is the prison, right?" Temari asked.

"Yes. Azkaban is the only Wizard prison, but it's only ever been broken out of once before. I've been told by some sources that twelve of Voldemort's followers escaped. Also that they had outside help. We don't know who helped them escape."

"But Azkaban is garded by Dementors. That could only mean that someone with no emotions, or very few, could of helped." Tenten pointed out. With her saying this, they all realized what it could signify.

"I truly believe that ninja are at the bottom of the escape. It's doubtful that anyone else could of been able to do something to help them escape."

"So, you believe Lady Tsunade was right to believe that some of our enemies will ally themselves with Voldemort?" Kiba asked.

"I believe that we should expect the worst." Kakashi said, "For more bad news. We strongly believe that Thicknesse, the Minister of Magic, is under the Imperius curse."

"...And that is?" Kankuro said.

If Kakashi was surprised they didn't know what it was, he didn't show it, "It's one of the three unforgivable curses. It puts the person you use it on under your control. We think one of the Death Eaters who are within the ministry must have placed it on him."

"How do you know he's under the Imperius curse?" Lee asked.

"The decisions he has been making are suspicious." He replied.

"So now we know that he has twelve of his more faithful followers back, and now he has the Minister of Magic on his side. Wonderful." Tenten said sarcastically.

"We're doing as best as we can to avoid letting more people get under his control. We will be sending someone this summer to work with the giants to hopefully get them onto our side. It would help us immensely."

"Giants? I guess we'll have to just get whomever we can." Kiba said uncertainly. The only thing he had read about the giants had not been very complimentary.

"Also," He received a groan from a couple of his students. They knew it would be more bad news. "Charity Burbage, the Muggles Studies teacher has gone missing over the Holidays. I will be taking her position until she returns."

"Do you think she has been killed?" Lee asked.

"We don't think so. Not yet anyways." Kakashi replied, "Does anybody have any more questions?" This was Kakashi's way of saying that he was done with the bad news.

"We heard that there has been a lot of fog lately, is it because of the Dementors?" Tenten asked him.

"Correct. The Dementors have completely got out of Ministry control. They took the souls they wanted to from Azkaban, before they left the prison. They are causing the great mists everywhere, and also are part of the reason for the new wave of depression that seems to have befallen the muggles." Kakashi liked the word 'muggle' and used it rather often.

There was no more to be said. They had received all the bad news that they needed for one day. With a dismissal from Kakashi, they returned to their common rooms, having missed lunch completely. Hinata and Gaara walked in silence. Neither of them had spoken a word during the meeting. Hinata was panicing inwardly. Her thoughts consisted of things like, 'How are we ever going to win?', 'Who are our allies, and who the enemies?', and 'Things just got more complicated...'. She was fretting.

They entered the empty dorm soon enough. They hadn't made plans with the others, so they had decided to simply go train the two of them. Hinata liked training with Gaara. It really pushed her to her limit, and she knew now that he wouldn't hurt her gravely. He had learnt to keep things from going to far, and to ignore his inner demon.

"I'll meet you on the roof?" Hinata asked him. He nodded and they separated. They each went into their own dorms. They had to change into their training clothes, lest they train in their robes. Hinata climbed up the stairs, still deep in thought. So deep in thought, that she nearly knocked into another girl on her way up, "Sorry!" Hinata said passing her.

"Wait!" The girl cried out with a panic stricken tone.

Hinata turned around quickly and looked at her. She was taller than Hinata, had black curly hair, and bright blue eyes. Her pale face stood out against the black of the school robes. "Yes?" Hinata asked her cautiously. The look in the girl's eyes was spacey, like she didn't really know where she was.

"It must stop!" She said with fear in her voice.

"Are you alright?" Hinata asked her.

That's when the girl burst out in tears, Hinata's eyes widened, but the girl ignored her own tears and talked on, "Don't bother trying...The world doomed itself with it's disloyalties to God! The Demon Himself is upon us now, and because of the world's little faith in the Greater Power, He shall take over!

"Nobody is alright anymore!" Was the last thing the girl said before fainting. Hinata used her quick speed to catch her before she fell down the stairs.

There was silence now, but the girl's words still hung in the air. Hinata wasn't sure what she was talking about. She'd seen her before, she was a girl two years older than her. Hinata had been to preoccupied by her words before, but now with the silence, she remembered her name. Daphne Greengrass. Hinata had known she was religious, based on the fact that she always wore a cross around her neck.

Hinata didn't know what to do with the fainted girl. She carried her downstairs and put her onto the couch. She decided that first she would tell Gaara that she couldn't train with him, then she would bring Daphne to the infirmary. Hinata climbed the stairs to the boys' dorm, knowing that no one besides Gaara would be there. She knocked on the door to make sure he was done changing, then entered.

"Gaara?" She called out. He appeared in front of her within a moment.

"What is it?" He asked noticing that she hadn't changed and she looked deep in thought. Hinata took no time to explain to him what had happened. He agreed that she should take Daphne to the infirmary and decided to accompany her. They descended back downstairs.

"I don't understand what she was trying to say." Hinata said. She was trying to figure out the meaning behind the girl's words, but it was difficult.

"Perhaps she meant nothing by it." Gaara suggested.

Once downstairs, Hinata picked up Daphne, and they headed out. They had no fear of meeting anybody on the way, since the other students would only be returning the next day. They walked the way to the infirmary in silence. Hinata was still thinking about what she'd said.

On entering the infirmary, they were met by Madam Pomfrey, "Oh dear! Put her on the bed." She said indicating one of the beds. Hinata did as told.

"What happened?" For a second time Hinata explained what happened to Madam Pomfrey. Except this time she avoided telling her the exact words that Daphne had said.

"It was bound to happen," The nurse said, and explained herself, "She's in her fifth year, meaning she has her O.W. L exams."

"Are they really so stressful?" Hinata asked.

"Well... Some students do get nervous breakdowns. But that's usually more towards the exams. I shouldn't say this, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt for you to know the truth. Her father has disappeared. They believe You-Know-Who has taken him." The nurse whispered to them.

Hinata and Gaara shared a look. Now she understood what she was talking about. 'The Demon' must have meant Voldemort.

"Will she be alright?" Hinata asked.

"She'll be fine. I'll let her rest here and send her back to her dorm if she feels up to it later on. The two of you can return to your dorm now. Or maybe you can go play outside. The snow is lovely this time of year." Madam Pomfrey said.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." Hinata and Gaara left after that, now assured that the girl would be fine. They exited the infirmary and walked down the corridor, with no particular destination in mind.

"Gaara?" When Hinata had his attention, she continued, "Do you...Think she was right when she said that 'Nobody was alright anymore'?" Hinata asked hesitantly. She didn't want to show her fear but she truly needed to have her question answered to have some peace of heart.

Gaara looked at her a moment, then looked ahead in thought. After a moment he turned his gaze towards her again, "I believe that she was mistaken. Nobody was ever alright." At Hinata's disappointed look, he went on, "But that doesn't mean we should lose hope."

Hinata smiled to herself, but said nothing. She only understood a bit of what he was saying, but guessed that it was meant to reassure her. It was only after a couple more minutes of pointless wandering, did she bring up the subject of a destination, "Maybe we should get the others and do as Madam Pomfrey suggested and go outside for a while." Gaara nodded and they went to get their teammates.

* * *

"And that summarizes all information I managed to retrieve from the owner of the orphanage." Kakashi said distractedly. He was in Dumbedore's office, telling him all that he had done during the Christmas break. But after a while, he had gotten up from his chair and had walked around. He found himself in front of the window of the office, looking outside. He smiled to himself, seeing his students playing outisde. They were having a snowball fight.

Kakashi had never done that. He had gone to the Snow Country with his team when he was younger, but he had not joined in with Obito and Rin's games. Even when his sensei was hit (obviously taking the hit for the fun of it) and he joined in on their games, Kakashi had refused. Sometimes he was mad at himself for wasting his youth on seriousness. But now it seemed to him that it was just to late.

He'd lost his youth, but perhaps he could animate his adult years. But now was not the time to dwell on such things. He had a mission to accomplish after all.

"That's excellent." Dumbledore said with his smile. He remained seated and had watched Kakashi walk around, then stop in front of the window. He was not aware of the sight that captured the shinobi's attention, or the thoughts that preoccupied his mind.

Kakashi stood still for a moment longer, then turned his gaze away from the window onto the headmaster, "Yes, I suppose it is good news, isn't it?"

* * *

Kakashi turned out to be a pretty good Muggle Studies teacher, so Hermione told the Shinobi. A lot of the students had wondered why Kakashi was moved classes, and where Professor Burbage was, but it calmed down after a while. While it lasted though, most of the rumors were pretty close to the truth. Charity Burbage had been kidnapped.

When other professors had been questionned about it, they said that she was held up because of family issues. Some of the students accepted this, most didn't. The fog was enough to tell them that evil was closer than it had ever been before. The students waited for something, anything, to happen, but nothing did. Even the shinobi, who had been told by Kakashi that they need not worry of an attack that year, were stressed. The words of Daphne Greengrass remained in their minds.

As spring turned into early summer, the stress left. Perhaps this was so because of the endless rain that had come with spring was over, or because the school year was nearly done. Both though, seemed to please the entire student body.

The library was where the shinobi had come to spend most of their free time, mostly because it seemed it was the only place they could get complete peace. This is where they were on the first day of summer.

"I can't believe it's already summer! It seems like only yesterday we were suffering endless rain." Temari said to the others.

"It practically was." Tenten pointed out and Temari merely shrugged her shoulders lightly.

"We have only about three weeks left of school before we get to return home." Kankuro said.

"It's been so long! I can't wait to see Gai-sensei and Neji again!" Lee exclaimed happily.

"I was just getting used to being here, and now we already have to leave. What a shame." Kiba said with a sigh.

"Don't forget Kiba, we have to return next September." Hinata reminded him.

"Yeah, but next years going to be much more stressful." Temari pointed out.

"Damn."

For the most part, they were excited for the next year. They had their own worries of course, because Kakashi had not told them that the next year would be harmless like this one, but they were confident. On that warm summer day, they were carefree, and unnerved. They would be returning home soon and were all excited to return to their villages.

Until summer started, the shinobi knew that their classes would be relax enough, with not much homework (Though they had heard about summer homework. Damn.), and they were to have one last meeting with Kakashi before they would return home. This meeting would be in two weeks time.

* * *

AN: It didn't take me all that long to put this out! Let me start off by saying that the first seven chapters are edited and that a lot of the things were changed in it. If you haven't read the edited chapters, I suggest you do because I changed a lot. I took out quite a bit and added some things to clarify.

I realize that this skips a lot of time. It's just that I realized that if I don't move things a long, this would end up being a really long story. So now it's the end of the third year. I'm hoping to end this story at around 30 chapters...I don't know how that's going to turn out though. (Chapters will be coming out faster from now on though.)

Besides that, the next chapter should be out in no time. Thanks for reading!

-MewMew


	11. The Squid

**Chapter 11 - The Squid**

The two weeks up to the meeting passed with no difficulties. The good weather remained as did the cheery atmosphere. Summer break was just a week away and all knew it. The shinobi went into their meeting room with reluctance. There were two reasons for this. The first was that they were afraid of more bad news, and secondly, they wished to be outside instead of stuck in a hot, stuffy room.

They all sat down and talked amongst themselves as they waited for Kakashi. It was breakfast time and most of the students were eating quickly, hurrying to get outside. It was a beautiful Saturday morning. After a couple minutes, the man they were waiting for walked in calmly.

"Yo." He said shortly. They all greeted him, bored. "What a lively bunch!" He said sarcastically. None of them said anything. Kakashi walked until he stood in front of them and started speaking seriously, "As you know there's only a week left of school. This means we'll all be able to return to our villages." A couple of them cheered.

"You will, though, be returning at the beginning of the next term, which will be starting on September first." Kakashi told them, "You'll continue to watch over the school and prepare for an attack. You'll have to be on guard. We have no news on the enemies plans for next year, so I cannot guarantee you an attack-free year."

"What will you be doing next year?" Tenten asked, noticing how he only referred to them when speaking, and not himself.

"I have been given a mission by Dumbledore to retrieve a couple items. I can't tell you more about my mission, but what I can say, is that I will not be anywhere nearby. Dumbledore will be finding a new Muggle Studies teacher, and since Professor Lupin has quit, we have found another Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Kakashi replied.

"Do you know who is going to be the new teacher?" Kiba asked.

"Remember that item I spoke to you about? The necklace?" When he received an affirmative, he continued, "Well, a team of four retrieved it and one of them will be coming here. The team consists of Kurenai, Neji, Yuki, and Daichi. Kurenai is the one who will be taking Professor Lupin's place."

Kiba and Hinata brightened, "Really?" Kiba asked excitedly. He hadn't thought about it before, but he really missed his sensei.

Kakashi nodded, "Yes. She'll be here when you all return in September. You won't be seeing her before then, though." He added.

"Kakashi-sensei? Will Neji be returning to Konoha this summer?" Lee asked.

"He should be." Was Kakashi's short reply.

"Will we be stopping in Konoha to give our report, then go back to Suna?" Temari asked.

"Yes, as will I." He answered, "Now, I'm sure you're all excited to get outside, since there's not much else to say, you are dismissed. Have fun during your last week." Kakashi dismissed them.

Kiba jumped off the couch, "Hey, Lee! Let's go find the giant squid!" He exclaimed and Lee jumped up excitedly, "Let's!" They'd been planing this for a while.

Kakashi lifted up his hand to halt them, "It's a little-" He didn't get the chance to finish before they left the room talking excitedly, "-Dangerous..." He dropped his hand in defeat. Those two were always looking for the dangerous creatures of the wizarding world, and neither cared about the dangers. They had fun exploring the unknown, and Kakashi couldn't blame them.

Temari laughed, "I guess I'll go make sure the giant squid doesn't drag them to the bottom of the lake." She said standing up. "Anyone want to come?"

The others followed her as she exited the room, leaving Kakashi alone. He stood there for a moment, not quite sure what to do with himself. He decided to go up to the Headmaster's office and look through the memories that were currently in the pensieve. Perhaps he would catch something he had missed. He doubted this, but just in case. Besides, he was bored.

--One Week Later--

"I still can't believe it was faster than us." Kiba repeated for the millionth time since the week before. The two ended up jumping into the lake not only to find the squid, but also because of the heat. They did manage to find it, and as they went to get closer to it, it swam further. They tried to get as close as possible, but it remained at a distance from them that they could not close. It swam faster than both he and Lee and he was extremely frustrated by this.

"I've told you before, probably a million times, it was in its element. You weren't. So, just get over it and put your things away." Temari told him. They were embarking the train and found themselves two compartments next to each other like at the beginning of the year.

"Yes, mother." Kiba said sarcastically, but did as was asked of him. Lee and Temari joined him in the compartment he entered, and the other four went into the other one. Within moments all their things were put away.

The train started picking up speed soon enough. They talked for a while, when suddenly their compartment door was opened. There stood Hermione with a smile, "Hello!" She greeted them as she sat next to Temari. Lee and Kiba were seated on the opposite side of the compartment.

"So? How was your first year at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked before any of them could say anything. It looked to them like she had been wanting to ask this for a while. They were all rather proud of her pride in her school.

"Hogwarts is so different to what we're used to, it's unreal! It's hard to believe we were so close to something so...Amazing. When we were told we would be coming here, I really didn't expect this." Kiba replied to her honestly, and she beamed.

"Well! I'm glad you've taken a liking to it. You'll be returning next year, right?" She asked, they hadn't told her much when it came to that.

"Yes, I told you we will be returning until our services are finished." Temari replied.

"Right..." She often pushed aside the fact that they were only there to protect the school. They were just so young, and yet they had an entire school's protection on their shoulders. She didn't doubt their abilities, but it seemed wrong to her. Youth should be for fun, not for such big responsibilities.

"We certainly learnt quite a lot from being here, that's for sure." Lee said after a moment of silence. The other two quickly agreed.

"Yes, and next year will be all the better."

* * *

AN: Hello! I want to start off by saying I know the title of this chapter has little to do with the chapter, but it's most likely the only time the squid will be mentioned, and I had no other ideas...

Also, I ended it there because it seemed like the right place. The next chapter will be taking place at the end of August! More characters are going to come into play! I'm excited.

For the length of the chapters, do you, the readers, prefer chapters at about this length (A little longer, since this one is shorter than usual), or would you prefer them to be longer? Some people have preferences, and I'd like to know yours! It would take me longer though to put out longer chapter...But the longer they are the less chapters this story is going to have. I'll do as you reviewers ask of me, so please tell me what you think on this point.

Thanks for reading!

-MewMew (It didn't take me long to put this out! I'm proud of myself!)


	12. The Messages

**Chapter 12 - The Messages**

It was a clear night, the moon shone bright and not a single cloud hung in the sky. A relieved sigh escaped his lips when his eyes finally landed upon the large, bright castle he'd been looking for. He'd spent two weeks looking for it using an unfamiliar map. Both he and his companion were hurt, but she was hurt more than himself. Her arm was around his shoulders, and with the little strength she had, tried to remain conscious. But it was pointless, he wound up supporting her completely anyways.

His own strength was beginning to run out and he struggled to support the both of them. He reached the wrought iron gates and leant heavily against them. When he regained his breath, he stepped away from the gates and attempted to open them. But his attempts were futile. The gate wouldn't budge.

He looked at his companion and realized she had lost consciousness. He surveyed his surroundings but there was no one in sight. He had nothing on him that could alert the people within the castle of their presence. He didn't have the strength to climb over the gate. The helplessness of his situation sunk in, and he slumped against the gates. He could only hope that someone would find them before their injuries worsened.

He closed his eyes wearily and just when his knees were about to give out from under him, he heard the noise of feet stepping on gravel. He grabbed her waist more securely and stepped away from the gate slowly. His eyes remained closed, and his grip loosened around her waist. His breath came in short bursts, his lungs burning with each of them. He heard the gates open behind him, but he didn't have the energy to turn around and see who it was.

Suddenly his knees gave out. He felt arms around his waist, and she was taken away from his grasp. The only thing he heard before blacking out was, "Deidara, grab the woman, and we'll take them to the hospital wing."

* * *

"The man should be awake soon, but the woman, I don't know. I healed her bodily wounds, but she seems to have been hit with a spell that literally ruined her brain." Madam Pomfrey summarized. "Do you know who these people are?"

"No clue, yeah. Do you?" Deidara replied, and looked over at his comrade.

Itachi looked over at the two people laying on the beds, then returned his gaze to the nurse, "I know that her name is Kurenai, but I don't know any more than that."

"Do you have any idea how they could have sustained all those injuries?" She asked as she wrote down her name on a clip board.

"Obviously some kind of fight. With who or why, we can't really begin to guess, yeah." Deidara replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I'll just have to wait for him to wake up." Madam Pomfrey said and went over to check on her patients.

"We should go find-" Deidara started to tell Itachi, but he cut off when he heard the door opened, violently hitting the wall. "Hidan." He mumbled to himself and glared at the other.

"Hey fuckers!" Hidan exclaimed walking up to them.

Itachi sighed softly, "Hidan, we told you to go put on a shirt."

Hidan rolled his eyes, "I'm wearing the tie aren't I? That should be enough!" The black robe was open, and the loose, green and silver tie hung over a bare chest. Deidara's own robe was open, but his blue and bronze tie hung over a clothed chest.

"I suppose that's fine for now. But when school begins you will have to dress properly." Itachi told him sternly. His own red and gold tie perfectly placed, with his robe closed over it.

"Yeah, sure," Hidan said, dismissing the topic, "Are they awake yet?"

"Do they look awake, yeah?"

Hidan looked over Deidara's shoulder and his eyes went to the two patients, "Yes, actually."

Both Itachi and Deidara looked at the two and saw that Hidan was right. Kurenai remained unconscious, but the man was clearly awake. He gazed at them with an empty expression. The nurse had yet to notice that he was awake. They stared at each other, nobody knowing quite what to do. Suddenly he spoke.

"You talk loudly." He said monotonely. His voice startled the nurse, who nearly dropped what she was holding.

She turned around quickly, "You're awake!" She put her things on a nearby table and went over to him quickly.

"How'd you guess?" He asked dryly.

"Don't be smart with me young man! Now, how do you feel?" She asked, and put a hand on his forehead to feel his temperature.

"I'm fine. How is my teammate?" He brushed off her hand, and looked to the bed next to his to see Kurenai laying unconscious.

Madam Pomfrey looked uncertain about answering, but did in the end, "I healed the cuts, bruises, and the burn, but..." She trailed off.

"But her brain is going to be harder to fix." He finished for her.

"Exactly. I will be able to, but it'll take time. Her brain cells were moved, and by trying to rearrange them, one mistake could easily be fatal."

He sat up in the hospital bed, "How long do you believe it will take?"

"A couple months at least. School begins next week, and the students keep me very busy. That, and fixing her will be a long process." The nurse replied and picked up her clipboard. She was about to speak, but he interrupted her before she could.

"Am I at Hogwarts?" He asked.

"No shit Sherlock!" Hidan replied sarcastically. Both he and the nurse looked at Hidan, both having forgotten their presense.

"Young man, we are inside a school! Please watch your language!" Madam Pomfrey spoke angrily.

"We were just leaving, yeah." Deidara said and started pushing Hidan towards the doorway, "You coming?" Deidara said over his shoulder to Itachi. The addressed looked from his comrade, to the man, and back again, and nodded. He followed them out of the room.

"Now, I need you to tell-" The nurse started, but was interrupted.

"I need to speak with the headmaster. Where are my things?" Neji started to get off the bed, but was stopped by the nurse.

"I'll send for the headmaster and I'll get your things. Just remain in bed. You just healed from some pretty bad injuries, and it's not good for you to move too much."

He nodded hesitantly, and sat back in the bed. He watched as the nurse sent out a white, powdery dove out of the tip of her wand. It went through the doorway and disappeared out of view. The nurse left the room, and came back with his weapons, forehead protector, and bag.

"My name is Neji, just to answer your question." He answered her would-be question, and put his things where they belonged.

Madam Pomfrey nodded and wrote his name down on her clipboard, "Aren't you a little young to have a tattoo?" She asked as he was tying his forehad protector.

His hands halted while tying the knot, "It's not a tattoo." He stated simply and finished his knot.

She was about to say something, but he spoke up first, "He's coming."

"Who?" She asked.

Neji didn't bother answering because the person he was talking about walked into the room a few seconds later. He looked over his shoulder to see a man wearing a long, midnight blue robe enter the hospital wing. A twinkle shone in the man's blue eyes, but Neji quickly noticed the man's burnt right hand, and knew that he was in quite a bit of pain.

"Hello Albus." The nurse said upon seeing him.

"Good morning Poppy!" He called cheerily, approaching them, "And who might this be?" He asked upon noticing Neji.

"My name is Neji Hyuuga." He replied, and set about looking through his bag. He pulled out a scroll and gave it to Dumbledore, "This was supposed to be Kurenai-sensei's proof of identity but things took a turn for the worse, and she is unable to give it to you herself." He pointed to his unconscious comrade.

"I see..." He opened the scroll and his eyes looked over it quickly.

"She was gravely injured on our mission and she will be unable to teach the class. I suggest you start looking for another teacher immediately." Neji told him.

"Ah, yes, I realized that would be problematic. I'm thinking you will wish to remain with your comrade until she is well?"

"Yes, if that is alright. It would be best for me to be here when she returns to normal, so that I may explain to her what has happened."

"Have you looked over the class program with Ms. Kurenai?" Dumbledore asked, and Neji shot him a curious glance.

Suddenly he caught on, "Yes, I have, but I really don't believe I am fit to teach a class. I'm not even old enough to have graduated from this school."

"You don't necessarily have to be old enough. You just need to know the material. Normally I would not ask, but this puts me in a bit of a predicament." Dumbledore had a calm look on his face, but Neji saw a bit of distress in his eyes. Dumbledore knew that if he could not find a teacher in time, that the ministry would send in someone, and that would definitely not be good news.

"If you cannot find somebody to teach by next week, I suppose I will have no choice but to do it." Neji sighed softly.

Dumbledore smiled, "Good! Now, how long until Ms. Kurenai is healed?" He directed this question to Madam Pomfrey.

"A couple months at least." She replied.

Dumbledore went on to ask every detail of the mission. The mission was a success, but Neji did not truly believe that. Halfway through his story, he pulled out the necklace from his bag, and handed it to Dumbledore.

"I believe you know more what to do with this than I do." He said.

Upon the stories end, Dumbledore told Neji that he was to get what he would need for the year from Diagon Alley the next day. Neji was to remain on bed rest for the remainder of the day, but he would be allowed to send Lady Tsunade a letter of his whereabouts, and the status of the mission.

**-One Week Later-**

September first means one thing to hundreds of young witches and wizards. It was the first day back to school. Parents were hesitant to send their kids away from home, with the Dark Lord alive once more, but most of them knew that if they were to be safe anywhere, it would be at Hogwarts. Everyone knew that the only place truly safe from the Dark Lord, is where Dumbledore was. So another year began, and the first feast of the year did too. Our seven shinobi were happy to return, and to see the friends they had made the previous year once more. They fit in much easier than the year before.

The three Akatsuki members did not care much for making friends and being friendly. They seated themselves on the edge of the house tables and sat in a way where they would be able to transfer messages to one another easily without any suspicions. Being put into three different houses had been distressing. Mostly for Itachi because he did not trust his two comrades promises of avoiding drama. Neither Deidara or Hidan were quiet people by nature, but they did pretty well the first three weeks of their being in the school.

The students noticed the shifts in teachers once more. The Golden Trio noticed that their favorite teacher's seat was occupied by another teacher. It seemed that Professor Grubby-Plank would be taking Hagrid's place for a while. Some students noticed that Kakashi's place as Muggle Studies teacher was replaced with a new teacher. She was introduced to the students as Professor White. They also all noticed the empty seat which was where the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher usually sat. Professor Dumbledore though, did not introduce whoever should be there.

Halfway through the feast, Deidara noticed a certain red-head sitting at the Slytherin table. He recognized him immediately because it had been his - and Sasori's - job to find out all they could about him. Suna's Kazekage, and Deidara's demon host. He had been told by Pein that it was his main mission to capture Shukaku, but now they were on a mission in which Pein had stated (repeatedly), _"Be nice. And don't kill anyone."_ He found himself wondering which mission came first, and so he sent a message to Hidan, who was closer to him than Itachi was.

With a scrap of paper he found in his weapon pouch (hidden beneath his robes), he wrote a short message on it with his blood, seeing as there was no ink available. He created one of his tiny, clay spiders, and tied the paper to it. The students near him paid him no attention, because they were busy talking and eating. He let the spider fall to the floor, and using his chakra, directed it towards his comrade. Deidara bit back a laugh when he saw Hidan's startled look upon feeling the spider crawl up his leg.

He watched Hidan write an answer, and the spider made its way back to its owner. He took off the paper and the first side was his question '_Bijuu. What should I do?' _Flipping it around, he read Hidan's reply, and was none to happy with it, '_Fuck if I know. Ask Itachi.' _That is what he had wanted to avoid doing. He noticed Hidan's usual sadistic grin, but also saw the other shrug his shoulders. He actually didn't know what to do, and was not simply saying so to anger Deidara.

He proceeded to retie the message to the spider. He figured the Uchiha would be able to understand what he was talking about, even if he was on the other side of the room, and had probably not yet noticed the presense of the Jinchuuriki. Or perhaps he had. He let the spider go, and hoped that his memory was good enough so that he would be able to properly guide it. He had his back to the Gryffindor table, and could not see Itachi. He also had to hope that nobody would see the tiny, clay spider.

Deidara was in luck because everybody was much too preoccupied by the food, and meeting with their friends to notice it. He also had a pretty good memory because he successfully guided his spider to Itachi, without crashing into anything. Besides one table leg. Itachi saw the spider coming and was not surprised like Hidan was when it crawled up his leg. It took him a moment, but he scribbled down an answer. He nodded swiftly to Hidan, who did the same to Deidara. Thus letting the blonde know that Itachi was finished, and that it was safe for him to call the spider back to him.

When he read Itachi's reply, he was rather unimpressed, and annoyed that he had wasted all that time for nothing. It answered his question at least. In the little space left on the paper, Itachi had scrawled, '_Nothing.'_ He got rid of the spider, and put the note in his weapon pouch. It was finally time for him to take part in the feast, and eat.

None of the seven gennin noticed this exchange. They were all seated on the opposite side of their house tables, and they did not know to look for this. They did not know much about the schools customs, and they thought that the school getting new students was normal. Which it was, but none of them knew that the school's new students only consisted of the first years. Receiving new students in any other grade is rare. So rare in fact, that they had been the firsts people to do this.

It didn't cross any of their minds that there might be three Akatsuki members in the same room as them. It was so...Unlikely.

* * *

AN: Firstly, let me aplogize for taking so long! I would like to thank my reviewers! Also, this is dedicated to **EowynsPen **for always leaving a review, and to **hippielicious **for pushing me to write this! Please, if you leave a review, make sure to threaten me into writting. Oddly enough, it really does help me write faster.

Now, I'm just going to explain the house tables. This is their real positioning. (In another chapter I said in what order they were, but I was wrong, so this is the right way.) From the teachers point of view, right to left: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and finally, Gryffindor.

If you didn't catch, Itachi is Gryffindor, Deidara Ravenclaw, and Hidan Slytherin.

Okay, just to let you guys know, Neji's mission will be explained in the next chapter in detail. And the Akatsuki's arrival and other stuff should be explained within the next 3 chapters (I think. My mind changes a lot...) I know I leave a lot of questions unanswered, but I promise everything will be answered eventually!

The chapter title, again, doesn't have much to do with the chapter...

I think that's it, this was a rather long Author's Note, sorry about that! I hope you liked the chapter!

Thanks for reading!

-MewMew


	13. The Allies

_Chapter 13 - The Allies_

The following morning, the first classes of the year began. Like every year, the classes began to the point. No time was wasted. They revised some of what they learnt the prior year, they learnt something new, or they talked about exams they would be doing at the end of the year. Right after lunch, Tenten found herself walking into her Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Kankuro, Hinata, and Gaara. They had been told a few months ago that their new teacher was supposed to be Kurenai, and expected it to still be that way since they hadn't been told otherwise during the summer.

Hinata had gotten no news on wether or not her teacher had made it to the school safe, but she'd figured that no news was good news. The reason they went to their class early was because they were excited not only to see Kurenai, but to perhaps get some news on Neji's whereabouts. They'd been told that he was supposed to return to Konoha during the summer, but he never did. When they had left for their mission, Lady Tsunade had had no information to give them on what happened to him, or his teamates.

Normally the door to a classroom is locked until five minutes before the class starts, but when they arrived there 20 minutes early, they were pleasantly surprised to see the door wide open. Tenten had been hesitant to come so early, but Hinata had been certain that they'd be allowed in, and it seemed she was right. Hinata entered the classroom first, quickly followed by Tenten. Kankuro and Gaara trailed slowly behind.

"Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata called out upon entering the classroom.

"Lady Hinata." She gasped when her cousin appeared in front of her.

"Neji!" Both Hinata and Tenten exclaimed, "You're alive!" Tenten added.

"Yes, I am. I suppose you didn't get my letter?" Neji asked.

"No, we left Konoha three weeks ago and Lady Tsunade still didn't know where you were." Tenten replied.

"That makes sense. I only managed to send her a brief letter of my whereabouts two weeks ago, and a complete mission report last week."

"We're so glad to see you're okay. People were starting to think you'd been killed!" Neji gave his female teamate a blank stare.

"Neji-nii-san...Where's Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked in a tone that said she clearly didn't want to know the answer. She was supposed to be teaching the class, but since it seemed that Neji would be doing that, she wondered where her teacher could possibly be.

Neji chose his words carefully, "She is currently in the infirmary. I would like it if all of you," He directed this towards Gaara and Kankuro who stood further away and were paying very little attention to their conversation, "Could join me there after classes because there are some things that need to be discussed."

"Sounds good." Kankuro replied.

"So this means you're going to be teaching?" Tenten asked, holding back laughter.

"Under the circumstances...I have no other choice."

"Well, just try to keep your temper with the kids!" Tenten laughed and Hinata smiled softly.

"...I hate kids." He murmured, "There are eight minutes left until the classes start, are you all in my next class?"

"Yep! Good luck! And it's nice to know you're okay." Tenten gave her teamate a quick hug before going to take her seat accompanied by Gaara and Kankuro.

Hinata shifted uncomfortably in her cousins gaze, "Are you...Alright Neji-nii-san?"

"Yes." He replied shortly.

"...And Kurenai-sensei?"

"She will be."

* * *

"I'm glad to see you all here." Neji said when everyone was settled around Kurenai's bed. She remained unconscious. Hinata, Kiba, Tenten, Kankuro, and Lee were seated around the bed, Gaara was leaning against the wall nearby, and Neji was standing at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed. He was tired of speaking, having done so all day, but he knew he had no other choice, "It'll be a long story, but please bear with me."

"Last October, my team and I were sent out on a mission to follow some leads we received about the whereabouts of Orochimaru's new hideout. About three weeks into the mission we received a letter from Lady Tsunade asking us to find this necklace. She sent us the coordinates, given to her by somebody from this school. I have no idea how the coordinates were found, I can only assume it was done by magic. The necklace, based from what the coordinates told us, was near where we already were.

Being sent out to find the necklace was the turning point in our mission. Until then we had found nothing and were planning on retreating from the mission. The leads we received had led us nowhere. As soon as we received this second mission we set out to finish it. We arrived at the location of the necklace at the beginning of December. We were surprised to say the least when we found out that the necklace was situated inside the very lair we had been looking for. It seemed like the perfect luck at the time.

The necklace, like most objects from the wizarding world, are made of pure chakra. Using my Byakugan, it was easy to find, and we also concluded that Orochimaru wasn't there. The lair was surprisingly empty, actually. The only people inside were Kabuto and...Sasuke." Neji stopped after saying the taboo name, taking in the surprised looks on his new teamates' faces'.

Before actually saying the name, only Kiba had thought about it. He had been put on the mission to retrieve Sasuke along with Neji, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Naruto. In his mind anything to do with Orochimaru rang a bell in his mind that made him think of Sasuke. He was sitting straight in his seat, with a surprisingly serious look on his face, "So, what did you do?" He asked.

It took Neji a moment before answering Kiba, "I did what I had to do. We had spent days figuring out a plan, deciding what we were going to do. We decided that we would go for the necklace, and that if we have to fight, that we would be strong enough to do so. Our first objective was to get the necklace, and we succeeded in doing so with no complications. It wasn't protected at all. Exiting the lair is when things became complicated. When things took a turn for the worse."

"You fought them." Kiba guessed.

"Yes. We outnumbered them but their strength was equal to ours. Kurenai-sensei fought against Kabuto along with Daichi and Yuki. I fought against Sasuke."

"If you and Kurenai are here then...What happened to your other teamates?" Temari asked.

"Killed. They fought well, harming Kabuto greatly, but in the end...I didn't see much of their fight, to be honest. I had to keep my focus on Sasuke. I could only assess the full extent of all the damage when everything was finished. Daichi was killed by a well-aimed hit to the heart, and Yuki, I couldn't tell. The damage was too extensive. I do know that Kurenai-sensei was hit by one of Kabuto's medical ninjutsu. The jutsu moved her brain cells, which is why she won't be conscious for a while. Madam Pomfrey says that it'll take her a couple months to heal her completely."

"How did your fight turn out?" Kiba asked, unsure about wanting to know the answer.

Neji shifted in his spot, and hesitated before speaking, "I knew that if I was to fight Sasuke I would have to fight with the intention to kill or else I would never win. I was really into the fight and didn't realize until the end...Sasuke is dead. As is Kabuto."

"Isn't that a really good thing?" Kankuro asked. Sasuke was a threat. He was in the bingo book because he was supposed to be killed. Neji seemed a bit upset because he killed Sasuke, and Kankuro didn't understand. He had been on the mission to retrieve him after all, he of all people should be glad to get his revenge.

"Well yes but...Sasuke wasn't...I wasn't the one who was supposed to kill him." Neji replied.

"Yeah, I get it." Kiba assured him, "Everyone figured it would be Naruto who'd kill him."

"Exactly."

"What did Lady Tsunade say when you told her this?" Tenten asked.

"She understood that it wasn't my intention, but she seemed happy to know he's no longer a threat." He replied.

"Who killed Kabuto?" Temari asked.

"I killed him. Well, I merely put him out of his misery. My teamates did a good job of harming him. I would have liked to bring him back to Konoha for some information but I had no strength for that. The only good things that came from that mission are the necklace and the information that Kabuto told us. I suppose he was certain that we were going to lose and that this information wouldn't be passed on, but his luck was against him. To put what he said simply, it seems that Orochimaru is currently with this Dark Lord person, and planning on taking over the Hidden Villages and the wizarding world. At the time I thought he was crazy but now I know just what this means. Our enemies are stronger than we originally believed."

"Oh no..." Tenten whispered. "We had our suspricions but, are you sure?"

"One hundred percent." Neji replied without hesitance.

"So if Orochimaru is currently with the Dark Lord, why wasn't Kabuto with him? And why would he leave Sasuke?" Kankuro asked.

"I can only assume that Orochimaru left Kabuto behind to watch over the lair, because he had a lot of important research going on there. As for Sasuke...I don't know."

"What kind of research?" Temari asked.

"It was mostly research concerning different DNA's and genetics. Anything that could help lengthen a persons life. After the fight I spent some time in the lair to recuperate, and I destroyed every bit of research I could find."

"What did you do with the bodies?" Kankuro asked.

"I didn't have much strength at the time, and couldn't bring them back to Konoha myself, but I moved them further away from the lair. It was a disaster zone when our battle was over and I didn't want anybody that wasn't from Konoha to find them. I hid them nearby and when I arrived here sent Lady Tsunade the coordinates. They should be in Konoha by now."

"That's good. Kabuto's body will probably have a lot to tell us." Tenten said.

"If this fight was in December, what have you been doing for the past nine months?" Lee asked.

"I spent a couple months recuperating and trying to figure things out. I knew I had to come here but the only things I had to go by was the name of the school and the country. Kurenai-sensei was the one who knew how to get here, I wasn't supposed to come at all. The other few months were spent trying to get here. I was still injured and was using all of my chakra on my Byakugan and trying to heal Kurenai-sensei. The conditions weren't great, and it didn't help that nobody had ever heard of this school. If I asked where Scotland was people would show me maps but I didn't recognize any of them. I spent most of the last few months lost."

"Why didn't you send any letters back? Somebody could have gone to help you." Tenten said.

"Send a letter back with what? Besides, even if I'd had a messenger bird, it would never have been able to find its way to Konoha." Neji replied.

"I suppose..." She mumbled.

"That's not all I have to tell you." Neji continued.

"What? There's more?" Kiba exclaimed. That was enough bad news for one day.

"Yes. Now I want you to let me finish before interrupting me, got it?" Some of them exchanged confused glances, but agreed, "I arrived at the school a week ago and was surprised to find out that there were three Akatsuki members residing in the school. Itachi Uchiha from Konoha, Deidara from Iwa, and Hidan from Yugakure. I spoke with the headmaster about this, because I didn't think he knew who they really were. It turns out he does know who they are, but they seem to have reached a compromise. It seems their Leader has decided to participate in this battle on our side."

"What?" Kiba exclaimed.

"I know this is surprising. But I spent a lot of time speaking with the headmaster and the three members. I was told that the Akatsuki Leader knew Professor Dumbledore long ago, and he agrees more with Professor Dumbledore's ideas than the Dark Lord's. I have some doubts in their loyalty, but the headmaster doesn't and he seems to have a good judgement. I even asked Lady Tsunade's advice on the situation. Our conclusion was that we were allowed our suspicions, but they are our allies. We are going to fight by their side when the time comes."

"But they're Akatsuki! They're the bad guys!" Kankuro exclaimed.

"I know that. But we need their help. They currently have a fourth member, Sasori from Suna, infiltrating the ministry and we're going to need his ressources. They are going to prove helpful allies in the end."

"Why don't they just stay out of this?" Temari grumbled.

"They understand what this battle means. If the Dark Lord proves victorious, it's not only the wizarding world that's going to be effected. The shinobi world will be effected to. It's true that their plans are probably to rule our world, but they don't want to do so alongside the Dark Lord. It doesn't sound good, but it means that they're going to be willing to fight against him."

"What if they turn against us? We're going to be fucked if that happens!" Kankuro proclaimed.

"Listen, I spent all week with them figuring things out. They've promised to keep me informed of everything they do, and that's already something. I'm not saying you have to befriend them, we just have to be willing to be their allies. Because if they agree to be our allies, then we have to reciprocate that. If we don't turn against them, they won't turn against us."

"But..." Tenten started.

"No buts. I need all of you to promise that when the time comes you will fight with them. We have no other choice. It's better to have them on our side, than on the enemies side."

"I guess...Alright, I promise to fight with them when the time comes." Tenten promised. The others hesitantly followed suit.

"Can we really trust them though?" Lee asked.

"To be honest...I'm not sure. But we really don't have any other choice."

"We do need all the allies we can get." Temari said, "Do we have to be nice to them?"

"Not really, but it would be better if you were."

"Hm."

They spoke a little more about the subject of the Akatsuki members. They were all unnerved to hear about their presense, but they also understood that their alliance was important. Once finished talking, they went their separate ways. They had eaten supper before coming to the infirmary, and now returned to their dormitory's to finish their homework.

* * *

AN: Hello! Sorry for taking so long to update! It took me a while to figure out just how to do this chapter. I'm not very good when it comes to giving explanations of things, but I don't think this one turned out that badly. I know the endings kind of bleh, but I wasn't sure how to end the chapter so...

Yes, I killed off Sasuke and Kabuto. Please don't hate me for it. I wasn't sure what to do with them, so I killed them. And to be perfectly honest, I do think that Neji can kill Sasuke pre-shipuuden. Also Hinata calling him 'nii-san' is because...Well I like it when she calls him that. I know I didn't put any 'San' 'Sama' 'Chan' or 'Kun' in the story, and here I come out with 'nii-san'...But 'Brother Neji' sounds weird to me. It's just me. PS: nii-san means big brother.

Thanks a lot to **hippielicious, EowynsPen, experiment13, NomadSaw, The Darkest Wizard, Birdy-chan, **and** fayfan **for leaving a review to my last chapter! Thanks to all my readers too! You guys are all super awesome!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you have any questions feel free to ask them!  
Thanks for reading!  
-MewMew


	14. The Attack

**Chapter 14 - The Attack**

A powerful kick hit the tree, leaving a dent. A punch followed suit, bruising his hands. He attacked the tree, one hit after another. His three teamates were nearby. Tenten sitting against a tree, Lee leaning up against that tree, and Temari was sitting on a branch in the tree that Kiba was destroying. Bits of bark flew off the tree. His anger wasn't directed towards anybody specific, merely the luck of events.

"I can't believe her healing is going to take an extra month!" Kiba growled. Akamaru, who was seated in Tenten's lap, gave a bark in agreement. He was growing quite big but none of the other students seemed to mind. Everybody loved Akamaru.

Tenten sighed, "Kiba, at least she's going to be healed. It's better than if she couldn't be healed at all." She pointed out to her stressed teamate. Madam Pomfrey wasn't kidding when she had told Neji that the students kept her busy. She tried to put as much time as she could on Kurenai's healing, but it was going to take longer than expected. It didn't help that the healing in itself would be more complicated than originally believed.

"Well that's true I suppose." He said in mid-strike, "Okay, I'm done now." He stopped attacking the tree and brushed off his hands. They'll really hurt in the morning.

"'Bout time." Temari murmured.

"Did any of you hear about Hermione and Ron's idea to start a Defense Against the Dark Arts group?" Lee asked them.

"Yeah, Hermione told me about that. Apparently she talked with Neji about it, and he's willing to lend her his class." Temari replied.

"But why do they want to start a Defense Against the Dark Arts group?" Tenten asked.

"They all know of the dangers that are coming, and wish to be as prepared as possible when they do come."

"Three hour and a half classes, following a ministry approved curriculum, aren't going to prepare them well enough." Temari added to Lee's answer.

"What's wrong with ministry approved?" Kiba asked because Temari had said that part with distaste.

"If you follow a ministry approved curriculum, you're not going to learn anything. Well, anything useful anyways. The students aren't really going to learn how to defend themselves. Neji's bending the rules as much as he can, but this year the ministry is keeping a close watch on all the teachers. They're going to be sending in someone to evaluate all the classes. If it's not ministry approved, they'll be replacing that teacher." Temari answered him.

"How do you know this?" Tenten asked her teamate.

"I overheard-"

"Eavesdropped." Kiba interrupted.

"Whatever. I overheard Professor McGonagal talking about it with Professor Flitwick earlier today. From what I could understand, they received a letter from the ministry warning them about keeping their classes in check. Professor McGonagal was pissed. But neither of them seemed surprised. I'm not all that surprised either. Since Thicknesse is under the imperius curse, he's going to do what he can to keep an eye on Hogwarts, and Professor Dumbledore."

"Do you know when this is going to happen?" Kiba knew that he didn't want it to be anytime soon.

"I'm guessing mid-October." It was already nearing the end of September.

"But the ministry is never going to approve of a Defense Against the Dark Arts group." Tenten said.

"Ron told me that they're planning on keeping it as much a secret as possible. They don't want the wrong people to hear about it." Lee explained, "They're going to keep it as far away from ministry ears as possible."

"And Neji's agreed to let them use his class? He's usually a stickler for rules." Tenten asked, surprised.

"He understands the importance of it." Temari would have added more but she stopped upon hearing angry voices. The voices stopped, and the shinobi shared a glance, wondering who was in the forest. Suddenly a scythe came soaring out from the opposite end of the clearing. Kiba dodged the scythe and it burried itself in the tree that had previously been attacked by Kiba. Temari jumped down the tree, Tenten and Akamaru stood up, and Lee walked over to Kiba, all getting into defensive stances.

As quickly as the scythe came, it was pulled back. There was a line connecting it to its owner. Suddenly two people walked into the clearing, arguing again. One of them was holding onto the scythe.

"It's not my problem! There aren't supposed to be any fucking kids in here!" The scythe wielder said angrily.

"You should still know what you're attacking before trying to kill it, yeah!" They were talking in whispers but their voices travelled to the shinobi's ears.

Temari was about to say something but was interrupted before she could, "What the hell are you kids doing in here? This is supposed to be forbidden territory!" The former asked, now in a normal tone.

"We should be asking you that! And we're not kids." Kiba replied.

"Wait a second..." Tenten took in their attack and realized something, "You're the Akatsuki members aren't you?"

Hidan leaned over to Deidara, "Are those the brats Itachi told us about?"

"Oh, I don't know, yeah," Deidara said in a sarcastic tone.

"And I just attacked them."

"Yeah."

"Fuck, don't tell Itachi about this. He'll be pissed!"

"Why did you attack us?" Temari raised her voice so that she could be heard above their whispering.

"Lord Jashin requires sacrifices, and since our Leader said that I wasn't allowed to kill people I've had to settle with animals. I didn't realize you were people until well..." Hidan trailed off. As much as Neji had been strict on his teamates about their alliance with the Akatsuki members, Itachi had been strict on him and Deidara. Hidan was just hoping that they didn't take the attack personally.

"He doesn't look before attacking, yeah." Deidara added.

"It's alright, I guess...But um, who's Jashin?" Tenten asked. None of them had been hurt, and she knew they weren't out to attack them.

"Jashin is-" Hidan would have gone on to talk about his religion for at least an hour, but Deidara interrupted him before he got started, "His God. You really don't want to know more than that, yeah."

"Hey! Maybe they actually do want to know!" Hidan snapped.

"Nobody wants to know about your stupid religion, yeah!"

Temari could feel another argument coming, and decided to interrupt them, "So...How do you like the school?" She blurted out the first thing she could think of. It wasn't the best subject she could have brought up, but it made them stop bickering.

They both gave her a confused look, "Well, it's okay I guess, yeah..." Deidara replied hesitantly. He was trying to decide if it was a trick question or not.

"That's nice..." Temari said lamely, not really sure what to say. They were standing in front of their enemies turned allies, she wasn't sure how to act around them.

Perhaps Deidara sensed this, because he decided to continue, "It's nice, but it's way too big, yeah! I got lost so many times when we first got here. The moving stairs was probably the worst though. It's not something you expect to happen, yeah."

"And the stupid trick step! But the weirdest thing has to be the ghost's. I mean, floating dead people? That's just creepy." Kiba agreed, starting to forget just who he was standing in front of.

"They're creepy, but at least most of them are nice." Lee added. He had quickly forgotten that these people were Akatsuki. He was asked to trust them, and so he would.

"Most of them. My house ghost, the Bloody Baron is seriously fucked up. He's definitely got a few bolts unscrewed somewhere." Hidan said.

"The Bloody Baron's not as bad as Peeves though. He's creepy, but at least he's not destructive." Tenten was thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have them as allies.

They talked for quite some time. They talked about the school and their classes. After about an hour Hidan and Deidara had to leave because he still had his sacrifice to make, and they said farewell like they were almost friends. The four shinobi agreed that maybe, just maybe, being allied with the Akatsuki wouldn't be that bad. They just might learn to trust them.

* * *

"And this here, is our department. Perkins is away, so it'll just be you and me today." Arthur opened the door leading into an office with three desks. One paper airplane floated into the room right before Arthur closed the door. It floated around his head, "I'll get to you very soon." He told it, and it went onto his desk and remained immobile.

"The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office...What exactly do you do here?"

"Our job, Sasori, is to keep items that have been bewitched away from Muggles. We also try to keep dark magic items out of circulation." Arthur replied.

"I see..." He didn't know what a 'Muggle' was, but knew better than to ask. He had to pretend like he knew what he was doing. He'd managed to create a fake resume, and diploma, and with his persuasion abilities, got the job. A job he had very little interest in, but it would have to do. His main goal had been to infiltrate the ministry. And there he was.

Arthur was a bit eccentric, it reminded him a bit of Deidara. They both also had the same passion for what they liked best. Deidara towards his art, and Arthur towards Muggle artifacts. From their first meeting Arthur had talked about nothing else, Sasori figured that's what he liked best. It would most certainly go well with his career choice.

"We've been on higher demand lately, I'll probably be able to show you exactly what I do today. This is probably somebody needing our assistance." He said, picking up the paper airplane. He unfolded it, and read it quickly. "Hm...Another one? Well, at least I know how to deal with it." Arthur put the paper in his pocket.

"What is it?" Sasori asked.

"An enchanted doorknob. When the owner tries to put her key into the lock, it shrinks. She's been unable to get into her house for two days now. I've had to deal with this problem more than once in the past. It's usually just some teens having fun at anothers expense. If we leave now, we should be back for supper." Arthur made his way out of the office, Sasori following silently behind.

"So, Sasori, know anything about cars?"

Sasori had a feeling this would be a long day.

* * *

AN: Hello! Oh my God, has she updated again? In under a week? What is happening?

I don't know. I've just been on some kind of writting spree lately. It's not a very long chapter, it's more of a filler chapter. It's leading up to things. Fun things! Another thing, I haven't read the books in a few months, so some details might be off. I get as much as I can off wiki, but there are some things that can't be found there.

Also, I know there are some things that don't follow the stories, but this is non-canon, so don't expect it to. One last thing, Kakashi will be coming back eventually. Just thought I should let the Kakashi fans out there know!

I hope you liked this chapter! And thanks to **Birdy-chan, Fayfan, hippielicious, EowynsPen, **and **The Darkest Wizard** for leaving reviews on my last chapter! Thanks to all my readers!

Thanks for reading!  
-MewMew


	15. The Evaluation

**Chapter 15 - The Evaluation**

"I heard they're going to be evaluating the teachers soon." Ron said during supper at the Gryffindor table.

"It's a bit hard to miss, Ron. It's posted on the billboards." Hermione rolled her eyes in slight annoyance. Her hand instinctively touched her neck where there now was a thick, gold chain. Hanging from it was the rare jewel, the Sugilite. She had managed, with little difficulty, to keep it hidden from her friends and other wandering eyes. The chain was long enough that it hid well enough in her shirt.

"It was?" Ron asked through a mouthful of pie.

"Yes, they put it up during lunch. You were gone to Quidditch practice at the time. They say somebody from the ministry will be coming to evaluate all the teachers on how they perform their duties. If the teacher is deemed incompetent, they'll be fired. And then replaced by a ministry approved teacher." Hermione explained.

"I don't remember that last part being on the poster." Harry stated. He had the chance to go see the announcement right before supper.

"Because it wasn't on the poster. It's only common sense. If they don't like the teacher, they're going to get rid of them." She said.

"But why are they doing this? They were never bothered by the teachers before." Ron asked her. It was a logical question, and she hesitated before answering.

Temari hadn't told her the truth, yet anyways. Hermione didn't know that the Minister of Magic, Pius Thicknesse, was under the imperius curse. That's why her only reply was, "I don't know, but I have a feeling something's going on in the ministry lately." She whispered to them.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, a bit afraid of knowing. He cared very little for the ministry from the start, and adding something strange in the mix didn't sound like a good idea to him.

"It's obvious something's going on. There has to be a reason behind the evaluation that's being kept hidden from us. I think they're trying to keep an eye on Professor Dumbledore. I mean, why else send somebody from the ministry here? They probably think the teachers are all plotting something against the ministry along with Professor Dumbledore. They seem very paranoid."

"They should be more worried about the students!" Ron grinned.

The first meeting of their Defense Against the Dark Arts group was a complete success. There had been so many people, all willing to learn and to help. They were thankful to be able to use Professor Hyuga's classroom, but they were searching for something more private. They were more than thirty members, they had to be sure to be as inconspicuous as possible. The classroom was enough for the time being, but they would need some place better for when the ministry official shows up.

Dumbledore's Army was more than any of them thought it would be.

That night Harry received some good news from Dobby the house-elf. He found out all he needed to know about the Room of Requirement. He was excited to be able to share that information with his two best friends, and later on with the rest of Dumbledore's Army.

But the following morning brought with it some unpleasant news...And a woman they all knew would be most unpleasant from their first impression of her.

All the students were joined together for breakfast, but nobody spoke. There was a new chair at the teacher's table, and on the chair sat a woman with a toad-like face and enough pink on her body to provide for the entire Valentine's day decorations. Her small eyes gazed at them all with, what the shinobi could make out with their keen sense of emotion, distaste. To others she probably looked happy, with the very fake smile set upon her lips. Once everybody was there, she stood. Dumbledore didn't need to introduce her, or bring the attention to her, because all eyes were already on her.

The students knew who she was. Not her name, no. But they knew she was the one sent from the ministry. The one who would be evaluating their teachers. She was the one who held the power in wether or not they stayed. The students feared for their favorite teachers. They all could tell that she would be strict. Not like Professor McGonagall, a fair strictness. No, an unfair strictness. Giving to those she prefers, not necessarily to those who deserve it.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" Her fake smile became even large, "And to see such happy little faces looking back at me! My name is Dolores Umbridge, you may call me Madam Umbridge." Looking around, there didn't seem to be a single happy face, on the contrary, they all looked rather taken aback at being adressed as though they were five years old.

But when she continued on, she sounded much more businesslike, "The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

From that point forward, the entire student body stopped paying attention to what the woman was saying. Well, most of them. The shinobi and Hermione were paying a great deal of attention to her words, knowing the meaning behind them. Her ideas of 'magical knowledge' were certainly not going to be the same as their teachers. That they were certain of. She finished off her speech sometime later. She wasn't fazed at all by the fact that nobody was looking at her, or listening to her.

"...because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited." She sat back down in her seat.

Dumbledore clapped loudly, and the other staff members followed suit. Though, done very half-heartedly, and for a short amount of time. A couple students brought their hands together a couple times, but decided not to waste the effort. In the end, her words were pretty much saying that things would go her way.

And the shinobi didn't doubt it.

They were facing a ministry official...She had power. A power that they didn't possess. They could only hope that the teachers would do their best to appease her and she would go away.

They hadn't known to what extent she was annoying though, until a week later. One week later, Gryffindor and Slytherin were sharing a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It was the first time any of them had a class with Umbridge there, and it was a first for Neji as well. He had yet to be bothered by her until that day.

Neji had received a letter (a pink letter) from Umbridge that morning telling him that she would be coming to evaluate him during his fourth year class. He wasn't really looking forward to it. But his fellow teammates were. They were hoping that he could put her in her place. They had heard unpleasant things from other students from different grades, and knew she wasn't a pleasure to have around.

The shinobi were sitting at their seats before the class began, and talked excitedly amongst themselves. They ignored Madam Umbridge who was sitting in a seat in the corner of the room, clipboard and furry pen in hand.

"I'm excited to see that pink lump get what she deserves." Temari said with disgust. She didn't really like the colour pink.

"I'm sure he won't disappoint us. He has more right to tell her off than we do. Or anyway, he can't get detention for it." Kiba remembered hearing a lot of students complain about detention. She wasn't even a teacher but she gave detention. As predicted, an unfair strictness. But she was from the ministry, and she could do almost everything she pleased.

"I just hope he doesn't get himself in trouble..." Hinata worried aloud.

"Don't worry, Hinata! Neji never gets in trouble." Lee said with a thumbs up.

Nothing more was said, because that's when Neji walked into the classroom. He closed the door calmly behind himself, ignoring Umbridge's presense entirely, and as soon as the door clicked, the bell rang, signaling the begining of classes.

"Silence." He said and silence fell right away. As per usual, he began his class immediately, "Mr. Weasley, please hand back the homework. Today we will be taking a look at the shield charm. I will ask you to-" Neji's instructions were cut off by a soft '_hem hem_' coming from behind him. He had heard from the other teachers about Umbridge's little cough for attention, and chose to ignore her.

As Ron passed out the homework from two days ago, Neji continued giving out instructions, "I will ask you to read the chapter on defensive spells in your book, and once-" Neji was once more interrupted by a soft '_hem hem_'. He turned to her with a blank look on his face, "_Yes?_"

"I was just wondering, Professor, wether you received my note telling you of the date and the time of your inspection?" Umbridge asked with her fake smile on her lips.

"Obviously I received it, or I would have asked you what you were doing in my classroom." Neji turned his back on her and brought his attention back to his students. "Like I was saying, once everyone has finished with the lecture, we will-"

'_Hem hem_'

"I wonder," Neji's voice was set in a cold evenness, "How you expect to gain an idea of my usual teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me? You see, I don't usually permit people to talk when I am talking."

Umbridge's taken aback expression is what turned the students' faces into those of glee. They loved Defense Against the Dark Arts, and they also wished to get the lesson started. Ignoring the sound of her furry pen scuffling accross her clipboard wildly, Neji continued the lesson, "-We will begin practicing the spell. Please turn your books to page 213, and read chapter 15."

It was a short enough chapter, but Neji would only give them about five minutes. It didn't really matter if some of them didn't finish the lecture. Most of the things mentionned in the book were discussed during the D.A meetings. Mostly as passing comments, but they were said none the less. As the students read, Neji noticed Umbridge get off her seat and walk towards him. He saw a couple students raise their eyes up from their books, but catching his gaze, resumed reading. But he knew none of them would actually be reading. They were all curious as to what Umbridge had to say.

Something awful, they were sure. Even some of the Slytherin students agreed that she was quite vile.

She put her clipboard against her arm and got ready to write something down, looking at Neji with a grin started asking him questions, "Now, I have been told that this is your first year of teaching, is that correct?"

"Yes, it is." He replied firmly.

"You seem a little young to be teaching, how old are you Professor Hyuga?"

"I don't know what traditions you're used to following, Dolores," She was clearly taken aback to being called by her first name, "But where I come from, it is considered rude to ask a persons age." From the corner of his eye he could see Kiba giving Lee a high five under the table, mouthing the words 'Go Konoha!'. Neji forced back a smile.

Umbridge's lips pursed into a thin line, and she scribbled furiously on her clipboard, but Neji showed no signs of being concerned by it. He turned away from her and let his gaze pass onto his students, noticing some closed books. It would suffice.

"Alright, books away please!" He got their attention, "Clear away the desks and we can begin practicing the spell."

"Are you sure they've had enough time to read? Some of them didn't look finished yet." Umbridge asked. The students were getting up from their desks and putting their books away, and some hesitated upon hearing this.

"I'm sure they grasped the basics of what they needed to." Neji replied, and the students continued doing as he had previously asked.

"Oh? Mr. Longbottom, tell me, what is a shield charm used for?" A lot of the students shot her confused glances. But she must have heard about Neville's slight difficulty in doing spells somewhere, because she fixed him with a triumphant glance, certain that he couldn't tell her the answer. A couple students looked at Neville worriedly. If he got it wrong the class would most likely be forced to continue reading.

But Neville had a bright smile on his face, "Shield charms are used to deflect jinxes, hexes, and curses back onto the attacker."

"Excellent, Mr. Longbottom, five points to Gryffindor. Continue what you were doing." The class did as told. The desks were put off to the side, a couple high fives being given to Neville. It seemed that the D.A meetings would prove usefull in many different situations. Neji turned to Umbridge, and noticed her defeated look, "Dolores, I suggest you have more faith in my students."

He left her to write on her clipboard. He walked around the room, watching the students practice the spell. They had paired off in groups of two, and one would attack the other with the disarming charm, and the other would deflect it with the shield charm. Chants of '_expelliarmus!_' and '_Protego!_' filled the classroom. He stopped next to his teammate, Lee, who was practicing with Kiba. Nearby Temari was practicing with Hinata, and Gaara with Nott.

"Ne-Professor," The error of nearly calling him by his first name was quite frequent, "Do you think she's going to approve of this?" Lee asked in a whisper.

"No, but I have every right. It says in the curriculum that the spell must be practiced. If she deems it dangerous well, that's only her opinion. Not the rules." Neji reassured his teammate. Lee seemed more worried about Neji getting fired than Neji himself.

"You're right! You are only following the rules after all!"

"Exactly. Now, continue practicing. This is a very useful spell to know."

"Right!" Both Kiba and Lee said simultaneously. They continued to exchange spells, trying to be faster than the other.

Neji walked around the classroom, giving pointers to some of those who had more difficulty. Most of the students had the spell rather quickly, for it was a spell that had recently been practiced in D.A.

When the bell rang, almost all the students could perform the spell perfectly. The students exited the room, except for his teammates who trailed slowly behind, waiting for Umbridge to leave.

Umbridge approached Neji calmly, putting away her clipboard and pen in a flowery bag, "You will have the results of your inspection in ten day's time."

"I can hardly wait." A slight note of sarcasm in his voice. She exited the room with her chin held high, and flowery bag swinging by her side. He turned his gaze onto the other shinobi, "You should hurry up and get to your next class." He told them.

"I don't like her." Temari stated.

"Me neither." Kiba agreed.

"I believe we should be very wary of her." Lee commented.

"How long is she going to be here?" Temari asked Neji.

"The letter only said until her inspection is completed and she is certain that all the teachers are ministry approved. If she gets rid of some teachers, it may take quite some time." He replied, "They'll have to be replaced before she leaves."

"God damn it..." Kiba muttered.

Neji shot a glance to his clock in the corner of the room, "You should get going. Only a few minutes left until your next class begins."

The five shinobi left the class quietly. Temari, Lee, and Kiba going into Care of Magical Creatures next, and Gaara and Hinata into Transfiguration. They all knew that classes would be more strained and stressful now whenever Umbridge would be inspecting. But, if they were lucky, she would be gone in under a month's time.

If they were lucky.

* * *

AN: Hello! I would first like to say I'm sorry for taking such a long time! But I'll add to that saying that chapters will be coming out faster now! This is the only story I have in my focus now, as my other one is completed, so I'll have much more time to work on this story!

A couple things to say. I wasn't sure how to call Umbridge, so I used 'Madam'. She wasn't really Professor so...Meh. And I copied some of her speech directly from the book, as well as some of the bits of the inspection. I copied some of Professor McGonagall's inspection. This takes place in mid-October. And I really, really hate Umbridge, which I'm sure you can tell!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I would like to thank **hippielicious, fayfan, Birdy-chan, The Darkest wizard** and **tez-chan** for leaving reviews on my last chapter! They really motivate me to keep writting! Thanks also to my readers!

Thanks for reading!  
-MewMew


	16. The Order

**Chapter 16 - The Order**

The halls echoed the footsteps of the teachers walking through them. They were scouting the corridors, making sure no students were out of bed, and that everything was in order. His own footsteps though, were making no sound. He was a student and shouldn't be wandering the halls after hours, but he was doing good at avoiding the teachers. A shinobi was a master in the art of stealth after all. He was met with an unexpected surprise when he turned a corner to see the Headmaster standing not far away, staring at him as if he'd been waiting for him. He didn't understand how he hadn't sensed him or even how the old man knew he was approaching. He never did find out why.

"Mr. Uchiha, how pleasant it is to see you." Dumbledore's voice was light and happy, not portraying the anger that Itachi had expected to be met with. He'd broken one of the few rules he was supposed to abide.

"Likewise, Professor." Itachi's words were courteous, but his monotonous voice ruinned their point.

"What are you doing out of bed so late? The youth need their sleep to remain focused and attentive during their courses."

"I was unable to sleep and decided to use my time monitoring the halls instead of tossing and turning all night." Itachi said, choosing to reply honestly.

"I see. Would you like to join me for tea then? It might help the both of us get some sleep."

Itachi knew that he couldn't decline without seeming rude, though he really didn't want to have tea with the Headmaster. Deciding that tea would be harmless, and would keep him from getting in trouble, agreed.

"That would be...Nice." He liked Dumbledore, but there was just something that irked him about the other. It didn't take him long to figure out that what bothered him was that in Dumbledore's eyes, Itachi could tell that he knew almost everything. He could see the wisdom. But the part that bothered him wasn't the wisdom, but the fact that Dumbledore never said he knew anything. He hid his wisdom. To know so much, but to never be able to share it with the world. In a way, it kind of reminded Itachi of himself.

"Wonderful! Follow me then, we'll go to my office." Dumbledore started to lead the way and Itachi walked beside him. Neither of them made a sound except for the Headmaster who was humming to himself. Within moments they were in front of the stone gargoyle that would lead them into the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore gave it the password and it moved aside, letting them climb up the spinning staircase.

They entered the office and Dumbledore waved his wand at a kettle that had already been on his desk, and it began to whistle as the water within it came to an instant boil. It started to pour itself into two cups that had just been conjured up by the Headmaster. Two chairs were already on either side of his desk, and the two sat down. Itachi didn't really like being in the office, but was glad for the tea. He hadn't drunk tea in so long, and it was a nice reminder of his old home. He grabbed the cup and let the heat make its way into his cold fingers. The school was getting colder now that winter was nearby.

Dumbledore wasted no time to begin conversing, which annoyed Itachi a bit, him not being the talkative type, "How are your studies coming along? I'm sure it must be difficult to learn new things without knowing the basics."

"My studies are coming along just fine."

"Have you made any new friends?"

Itachi gave the Headmaster a look that clearly stated it was a ridiculous question to ask, "The only people whom I need to know here are my teammates. Socializing otherwise is unimportant and pointless."

"Socializing is a part of life, Mr. Uchiha. It's good for the mind, and listening to the opinion of others can help stengthen your own. Loosening ones tongue can prove a wise choice." Dumbledore said.

Itachi chose not to reply, and merely drank some tea. It was still a bit too warm for drinking, but he didn't mind the burning sensation it caused in his throat. Suddenly his ears perked up, and he heard some noises from the staircase. Recognizing the chakra, shared his information with the Headmaster, "One of Neji's teammates are coming." **(1)**

"Oh?" Just then the door burst open, slamming against the wall. The sound could of been enough to wake up the whole castle, but somehow, it did not. In the doorway stood Lee, carrying in his arms an unconscious figure that Itachi didn't recognize. Both of them were wet, most likely having come from outside where the snow was pourring heavily. The woman in Lee's arms was an adult, her short black hair contouring a pale face, and she wore a black cloak. In his hands he held a wand, most likely belonging to the woman.

Lee talked the entire time, "I am the handsome devil of the Hidden Leaf Village! I am Rock Lee, here to tell you something of the utmost importance! The springtime of youth has created a curiosity within this-" Both the Headmaster and Itachi were sure he would have gone on for much longer if he hadn't been interrupted. **(2)**

"Are you causing another ruckus, Lee?" Neji entered the office and calmly shut the door behind himself, "And you forgot to knock again." He reprimanded.

"Sorry." Lee visibly deflated, a guilty look on his face.

"Good evening, I hope we aren't intruding on something important." Neji's gaze went from Dumbledore to Itachi.

"No, no. We were just having a nice chat! Please, lay her down." Dumbledore waved his wand and something that resembled a giant pillow appeared and floated in midair. Lee gently laid down the woman on the pillow, putting her wand next to her, and it remained in the air, "Now, if you could kindly explain this I'd greatly appreciate it." The Headmaster's discomfort was obvious.

"Lee, you may explain. But keep your voice down, people are sleeping." Neji leant against the door, and watched his teammate.

Itachi was wondering what was going on. At first he thought he should leave, to let them have their privacy, but quickly realized this would probably be something he'd want to hear. Lee smiled brightly and began his explanation, emphasizing every word with hand gestures.

"Last night Kiba and I were having a very passionate spar out in the forest. It was a close battle, but the power of youth and hard work came out on top! Kiba fought very well, managing to do quite a number on my robes. We don't normally spar in our robes but we were much too focused on our spar that we never even noticed that we were still wearing them. Luckily it was the weekend and I would have the time to get myself some new ones. I went to see Neji and he allowed me to go to Diagon Alley to retrieve some new robes from Madam Malkins. I set out this morning and got them quickly. Madam Malkins is such a friendly woman! The flame of youth is ignited within her! On my way back, I decided to stop by Hogsmeade, seeing as I had quite a bit of time left.

I toured the village, and saw this woman walking about. I didn't pay her much attention until I saw her walk into an alleyway. Knowing that those places aren't very safe for anybody, I chose to follow her. I found her talking to this man, they seemed to know each other very well. I heard her give him a report about things going on at Hogwarts, and she gave him a lot of details about Harry Potter. I know that he is to be kept safe at all times, and wondered why on earth she would be sharing information about him. I decided to follow her more, to see if she did anymore suspicious activity. I followed her all the way to the school. Then I decided that she could possibly be a threat, and brought her to Neji."

"I told him to report any suspicious activity back to me. This isn't really what I had meant but..." Neji shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't really control his teammates sometimes quite foolish antics, "I know that you know a lot of people and hoped that perhaps you could recognize her."

Itachi stared intently at the Headmaster. He noticed a nervous twitch in his fingers, and wondered what he was anxious about. Dumbledore's eyes had never left the woman's figure, and he knew that the old man must know who she was. He saw him straighten in his chair, and finally drew his gaze away from the woman. A faint smile was on his lips.

"Yes, I do recognize her. Please sit down, and I'll explain everything." Dumbledore made two extra chairs appear. Lee sat down at the edge of his seat, ready to listen to what the Headmaster had to say, and Neji sat down hesitantly. He was uncertain wether or not he wanted to hear what the other had to say. Dumbledore seemed too anxious for it to be something irrelevant.

"Her name is Nymphadore Tonks, she is a member of the Order of the Pheonix, along with the man she spoke to in the alley. I'm assuming that it was Alastor Moody. Both of them are working on our side. Alastor used to work in the ministry as an auror, and still keeps his old ways of thinking. Reports are common between allies within the auror business. Nymphadore was giving him the report to appease him." Dumbledore said.

"What is this Order of the Pheonix?" Neji asked.

This seemed to be the thing that had made the Headmaster so nervous. Though his facial expressions remained calm and collected, the way his fingers beat noiselessly against the cup was enough proof of the truth.

"Yes, I had a feeling you'd inquire about that. The Order of the Pheonix was first established during the first war. I created it to bring all that opposed Lord Voldemort together in a more united front. It was disbanded after our victory, but was reinstated once Lord Voldemort came back to power. At the moment, the Order is working on finding more allies and trying to find information on the enemies." He explained.

Neji stood up from his seat, his eyes cold. His mind was going over every detail, his anger slowly rising. He went over to the window and leant against the railing, his eyes staring out at the snow. Nobody spoke, waiting for him to do so. Itachi knew Neji would say what needed to be said, and Lee just didn't know what to say. He was still going over what the Headmaster said, wondering why Dumbledore had been so nervous to tell them.

Suddenly Neji looked at Dumbledore and broke the silence, "You don't trust us."

"Ah, Mr. Hyuga, I wouldn't say that." His voice was still light, aggravating him further.

"Then tell me, _Albus_, why have we not been told about this before? If they are your allies, then that would make them ours as well, correct?" With this, Lee finally understood why his teammate was angry. He, himself, felt a bit hurt by the lack of trust the Headmaster had in them.

"I understand that I should have told you sooner, but it was in my intentions. Time has been strained recently, and now with Madam Umbridge around, talking about these things can't be done too loosely."

"The Order was in place last year, wasn't it? Then how come you didn't tell them then? You asked for our help, but how can we do that if you keep such important details a secret?"

"It is completely reasonable for you to react this way, but please look at it from my point of view. I was short on allies, and chose to hire some ninja's from Hidden Village's. I do not know them, and do not know exactly what their position is during this war. I have to believe they're good, but with Death Eater's manipulating so many, it is hard to know for certain. If I were to tell you about the Order and you turned on us, it would prove most likely disastrous."

"Trust takes time to build, even moreso during a time of hardship and uncertainty. But concerning this Order, the people are wizards, very talented wizards I'm sure, but you musn't forget that the enemy has ninja. No matter how good the wizard, he doesn't stand a chance against a capable ninja. These Order members could be in incredible danger." Itachi intervened before Neji could retort, most likely harshly. It was a blow to his honor to be openly told that he could not be trusted.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. I apologize for my lack of trust, but I hope you can understand that it was necessary for me to be wary."

"But you musn't be wary any longer, Professor! As a ninja of the leaf, I give you my promise that we will not betray you. We will do everything in our power to help! Because they are a threat to us, as much as they are a threat to you." Lee exclaimed.

"Do the other Order members know about our being here?" Neji took his seat. He was still a bit angry with the Headmaster, but could understand his being wary.

"Only the teachers in the Order know, but I will also be telling Nymphadora, for she deserves to know why she was knocked out."

"Would you kindly give her my apologies when she wakes?" Lee had a guilty smile, feeling as such knowing now that she was an ally.

"Of course."

"Is there anything else you would like to tell us about the Order?" Itachi asked.

"Yes, actually, I was just about to discuss something with you, Mr. Uchiha, when they arrived. I have been recently informed of a break-in at Ted and Andromeda's home, they are Nymphadora's parents and members of the Order. The two of them were kidnapped, and when Remus told me about it, I knew that ninja's were probably at fault. I told him that I would take care of it, but I know that it would be better if other ninja's took a look than if I were to."

"I can send out a four-man squad. How thorough do you want your search? If you only want to know what happened, I can send out the squad next weekend. But if you would like to find out where they went with her parents, I recommend waiting until Christmas vacation, it is only two weeks away after all." Neji was quick to business, not even waiting for Dumbledore to ask him for his help.

"I wouldn't want them to have to rush the search, and finding Ted and Andromeda is our main priority at the moment. During Christmas vacation sounds ideal."

"Can I go, Neji? Please?" Lee begged his teammate, wanting to get some action for once. They hadn't done anything very exciting since they arrived at the school in September.

"I suppose. Would you like to go as well, Itachi? You know Orochimaru and could be quite helpful."

"I don't think that's the best course of action. I know him, yes, but the fact that wherever he is my brother is, could cause some unnecessary trouble."

Neji kept his face straight, keeping his emotions in check as well. He hoped that Lee would be able to do so as well, and was glad when his teammate didn't give anything away. He had told his friends that he would take care of telling Itachi that Sasuke was dead, but hadn't gotten the nerve to do it yet. It wasn't something easy for him to say.

"You're right. I'll send Lee, Lady Hinata, Kiba, and Tenten as Leader. They'll find out what happened at their home, and will do what they can to find the residents. They'll be sent out on December 16th, and will have until the end of Christmas vacation to return." Neji summarized the mission.

"I can make a portkey for them, that will send them directly to the Tonks' household."

"That would be perfect. I will inform them of their new mission tomorrow, they'll meet here on the 16th."

"Wonderful! I'm glad that has been settled. It's getting quite late now, you should all get to bed. Luckily tomorrow isn't a school day, but rest is always good for the body." Dumbledore said, "I'll take care of Nymphadora, I hope someday you'll be able to meet her when she's awake."

Itachi put the tea cup down, long ago having gone cold. Perhaps he was glad he said yes to tea with the Headmaster. He got some important facts, and now he was dead tired. He'd have no trouble sleeping when he finally got to his bed.

* * *

Crimson eyes opened slowly and without effort for the first time in months. She took in her surroundings, seeing white walls and recognizing the bed, she realized that she was in some form of hospital. She saw a nurse nearby, who turned to her after a moment. The nurse's eyes' widened and she gasped.

"You're awake!"

"It appears that way."

* * *

AN: Hola! **(1) **I had Itachi say 'Neji's teammate' because he doesn't really talk to them, he only talks to Neji. That'll be more in detail the next chappie though. (I think.) **(2)** I tried to write Lee, but he's not exactly easy to write. When he's explaining, I made him go a bit off topic, saying things that were irrelevant because that's how I picture his character.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I apologize for taking so long, I've just been working on numerous things at once, trying to get things done. I do hope this was okay though! The next chappie will be longer so it'll take me more time to put it out. There's a lot of small details that I have to put so I'm trying to put them all together. Also, a bit of a cliffy at the end there! Though I hope you know who it is...

I don't know why I cut the chapter at that point. I just kind of felt like it. Anyhows...

Thanks for reading!  
-MewMew


	17. The Truth

**Chapter 17 - The Truth**

The smoke from the hot tea floated upwards in a constant stream. The room was warm and humid thanks to the lit fireplace, but it wasn't uncomfortably so. Behind the windows snowflakes were falling from the sky, littering the entire grounds with white. The sun shone through the clouds. Two people sat accross from each other, a small desk between them. Their hands wrapped around their tea cups, a small symbol of home, and they talked.

"I never liked her to begin with, but putting both Sybill and Hagrid on probation..." Neji said.

"Some of the students aren't taking it very well." Itachi pointed out.

"Some are very upset, it's true, but they're all too excited by the approaching holiday's to put much focus on it."

"Another week and the holiday's will be upon us. Do you have plans?"

"No. I'm going to stay here and, along with my remaining teammates, watch over the students who've chosen to stay at school. And do you have plans?" Neji asked, out of politeness and not out of wanting to know. He already knew that Itachi had no plans, since one of the conditions they'd agree upon was that none of the Akatsuki members were permitted to leave the school unless accompanied by one of the Konoha/Suna shinobi.

Itachi took a small sip from his cup. He lowered the object and stared at it. Luckily, Neji knew that when it came to Itachi, being patient was the key to getting an answer. As predicted, the Uchiha slowly met Neji's gaze, "Watching over the students, like you."

"I see." Neji swirled his cup a little, watching the dark liquid swoosh. There was silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. They spent a lot of time sitting together without sharing a word. "Christmas is such a widely celebrated holiday here." Neji commented after a couple minutes.

"Yes, it is." Itachi agreed. He was suddenly caught up in a coughing fit. He covered his mouth with his hand, but took the tissue handed to him by Neji.

"Itachi, did you go see Madam Pomfrey like I asked you to?" Neji's voice was laced with concern.

"Yes." Was the smooth reply. Itachi threw the blood-tainted tissue in the garbage.

"And what did she say?"

Itachi stared at him for a long while. Their eyes locked onto each other. He drank more tea, though Neji was sure it was hurting his injured throat. He set the cup back on the table and shifted his gaze to it, "She said she couldn't heal me here, but they would surely be able to at St-Mungo's."

"Well that's great! You'll feel much better once you're healed." He smiled, but noticed Itachi's blank expression, and asked, "What is it?"

"I don't want to get my hopes up. That's all." Itachi replied shortly.

"We'll go to St-Mungo's during the Christmas break, since we're both not busy. We'll see what they can do."

"How do we get there?" Itachi's voice was deadpan. Neji was frustrated by the way he showed no emotion when faced with something that could do him so much good. Normally, Neji would never encourage his enemy to go get healed, but it was obvious that Itachi was in pain. And he was an ally now, he would be more helpful if he was healthy.

"We'll go by floo powder." Neji said and took in Itachi's blank stare, "Do you know what that is?"

Only after taking a long sip, Itachi decided to answer. Even Neji's great amount of patience was wearing thin, "No."

"It's a commonly used method of transportation used here. It's a green powder that you throw in a fire place, and then step into the fireplace, say the name of the place you wish to go, and you'll be teleported there. Of course, where you're going must have a fireplace connected to the floo network." Neji explained.

"Is it safe?" Itachi asked, unsure about the idea of teleporting through the use of a fireplace. Stepping into flames doesn't much sound like a good idea to him.

"Yes, I've used it myself. I've only used it the one time, but it works well. It's effective and can bring you almost anywhere you want to go."

"And where did you go?"

Neji was a bit thrown off by the question but answered shortly after, "I went to Konoha. It's not normally connected to the floo network, but an exception was made this time. I went to give Lady Tsunade my mission report. It was too important to say in a letter."

"Yes...The infamous mission that you refuse to give me details about." Though it was a snide remark, his voice remained monotonous.

"Itachi, I already told you I'm not going to tell you about the mission, besides, you don't need to know everything I've ever done."

"You insist on knowing everything I do, I should be allowed to know what you do as well. Seeing as you were as much our enemy as we were yours." Neji would almost say Itachi was being bratty.

"Itachi!" Neji slamed his empty tea cup against the counter, almost shattering it, "I don't want to tell you because I don't want to upset you. Is that so wrong of me?" Neji's frustration was evident from his words and tone.

"Very few things upset me, Neji." Itachi voice was still smooth as silk, "If it concerns the Akatsuki, I probably already know what it is."

"It's not about the Akatsuki." Neji murmured. He sat back into his seat, he had risen a little through his anger, and wondered wether or not he should tell the other about the mission. He knew though, he had to tell Itachi. He'd promised his teammates that he would be the one to tell the Uchiha the truth about what happened on his mission. He couldn't put it off much longer, or else they would do it. And most likely taking very little consideration of Itachi's feelings, which would have been perfectly normal given the circumstances.

"Then why should it upset me?"

"Because it's about Sasuke."

This took Itachi out of his deadpan state. He sat up straighter in his seat, and his hands visibly tensed around the cup, "What?" Itachi's voice was cold as ice.

Neji's lips set into a firm line, he'd tried to warn him that he would be upset, but he'd refused to listen. "The mission was to follow up on a lead that would bring us to Orochimaru's hideout..." He stopped talking when Itachi stood up.

His eyes followed Itachi's smooth movements. He went to stand at the window, his hands grasping the bottom of the frame, and he looked outside, his gaze steady. The Quidditch field could be see from his office, which Neji enjoyed watching from time to time. But at the moment, there was only snow.

They spent some time in silence, and upon realizing that Itachi was waiting for him to continue, did so, "My team and I had to go in and we had to fight...We tried to avoid a confrontation but there was no other choice..."

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife, "I'm sorry Itachi, but Sasuke's dead."

He stood up from his seat and went to stand next to Itachi. He went to put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. Itachi took a step back, his eyes not meeting Neji's, but even from the side he could tell that the black eyes were unfocused, "Are you telling me the truth?" The words came out slow, but calculated. The voice was monotonous, but his eyes gave everything away.

"Yes, I'm really sorry." He didn't know why he was apologizing as if he were the bad guy. Neji took a step back to give the other some space. Upon noticing that he was unconsciously fiddling with his sleeves, crossed his arms over his chest. He saw the confusion clearly in the others dark eyes, and made a suggestion, "Maybe you should sleep on it." His voice was calm, though he didn't feel that way at all.

Itachi finally looked at him once more, and he nearly gasped at the dark, coldness in his eyes, "Yes." He said shortly.

Neji closed his eyes, and within seconds, he heard the office door open and shut quietly.

They met up once a week to discuss what they'd done in the last few days. It was Neji's way of keeping a tab on what each of the Akatsuki members were doing. But after four months, it had become more like tea between friends. Neji hoped to still see Itachi the next week, but doubted it.

He was frustrated though, that he felt so guilty over doing what should have been the right thing to do.

* * *

They hadn't been allowed inside the infirmary for a couple days after Kurenai's awakening. Madam Pomfrey had wanted to be certain that she was perfectly healthy before letting a couple people in at a time. It was easily decided that Kiba and Hinata should be the firsts to see her, after so long a wait to see their teacher. They were told by the nurse to speak in hushed voice, because Kurenai got migraines often, especially when near loud noises. Which was no surprise after having someone poking around inside your head for four months.

Kiba and Hinata approached the bed, both barely containing their excitement at seeing their teacher well again. Kurenai smiled at them, albeit wearily.

"Good evening, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata greeted her as they approached, joined in by Kiba, "Hey, sensei!"

"Hinata, Kiba, it's been so long. How are you two? How's Shino?" She asked them, her voice low. Her two students stood on either side of her bed, where she was propped up into a seated position.

"We've all been well, and what about you sensei? How do you feel?" Hinata asked.

"I feel fine, thanks to Madam Pomfrey. My head hurts from time to time, but that's to be expected." She replied.

"It's great to see that you're okay." Kiba said.

"I'm glad that you guys are alright too. It really has been far too long since we've last seen each other."

"It's been over a year." Hinata said.

"Really? What day are we?" Kurenai asked.

"December ninth." Kiba answered her.

Their teacher's eyes widened, "Oh my...I need you both to give me the details of the mission. The last thing I remember is being struck by Kabuto. And after that everything's blurry. What do you know about what happened afterwards?"

Kiba and Hinata shared a look, and the former began recounting to their teacher the details of the mission that they knew. The latter would sometimes add in details that he'd missed. They told her everything about the death's of Kabuto, Sasuke, and her two teammates, about how Neji brought her back to the school with difficulty, how Madam Pomfrey had healed her, and even more. They went further, explaining to her about the Akatsuki, the Ministry of Magic, and their new mission to retrieve Andromeda and Ted Tonks along with Lee and Tenten.

"They were kidnapped from their home and Professor Dumbledore wants us to go find them. We're going with Lee, and Tenten's going to be leading us. It's going to be fun! We're finally going to get some action. Learning is great and all, but I'm a ninja, not a wizard." Kiba told her.

"I'm certain you'll do well. If you're up against some wizard it shouldn't be a problem. But don't do anything reckless, got it? If you're up against shinobi make sure you can take them. If you're not sure, retreat. It's not worth the risk."

"You're telling us not to be reckless? You're the one who entered Orochimaru's hideout!" Kiba pointed out.

"It was reckless. It was stupid. But..."

"But, you did what you had to do to finish your mission, and so will we. We're going to find them and bring them home safe and sound."

"Tenten's our captain, she won't lead us into danger." Hinata added.

"You shouldn't put too much faith in your captain. They make mistakes too." Kurenai's voice was bland as she said this.

"What? Sensei..." Kiba wasn't sure what to say to that.

"I was the captain on that mission. They trusted me, and went into the hideout even though they didn't want to. Daichi and Yuki both said it was a bad idea, and look where they are now. Dead. Because I ignored their worries."

"Kurenai-sensei, you can't control the outcome of your actions. Two people in the bingo book are dead now, because of your decision, and on top of that we have more information about the enemies." Kiba reasoned.

"Two of my comrades are dead." She countered.

"You know what? Yeah, that sucks. That really, really sucks. But they didn't die in vain. A lot of good things came out of that mission because of them."

"I know. Just don't forget, alright? Your captain isn't perfect. Mistakes will be made."

"Nobody's perfect, sensei." Hinata said, "We'll have faith in Tenten when we go on our mission, just like we've always had faith in you."

Kurenai smiled bitterly at her student, making both of her students look at her with worry on their faces, "Let's hope you don't regret that choice."

* * *

The next few days passed by quickly. It was the last week of school. On the friday night, Neji was correcting some of the students work in the dim light of his office. Instead of the main light being on, Neji had put some candles around the office. It was a nice glow, they smelt good, and it kept his mind calm. Papers were around him and a tray was nearby. A kettle and two cups rested on it. His cup was filled and currently cooling down.

He was having a hard time concentrating. He kept wondering if he was going to have company that night. As the sun hid behind the forbidden forest, Neji's ears perked up. His office door was being opened, and the only person who came to his office that late was...

"Itachi." Neji kept his cool facade on, though he was very glad to see the other. He'd really thought the other wasn't going to show up.

Itachi didn't say a word as he sat down in his usual seat. Neji waved his wand at the kettle, and it started pouring the tea into a second cup. He was trying to practice his magic as much as possible. Although the two saw each other in the D.A.D.A class, they hadn't spoken a word to each other since the prior week.

"I didn't expect you to come." Neji spoke frankly.

"I'm not so childish." His voice, if possible, was more monotone than usual. He took his cup off the tray and craddled it in his hands.

"There's a difference," Neji started. He put away the work he'd been correcting, and took his own cup into his hands, "Between being childish, and being angry."

"Why do you insist that I'm angry or upset? I have only ever hurt my brother...I do not care for him."

"And you're supposed to be a good liar."

"Hm?" Itachi's face was one of curiosity.

"You obviously care about him. If you didn't, you'd have killed him long ago. And the way you left my office so quickly last week...You cannot possibly expect me to think otherwise."

Itachi didn't waste the energy trying to argue with him, and looked down at the tea in his cup. He knew his eyes would be showing sadness, and he didn't want Neji to see that, "Perhaps. He was still my brother after all."

"I'm sorry..." Neji repeated, the guilt coming over him again.

"I'm not angry at you, Neji. You needn't apologize. I'm angry at..."

"The world?" Neji guessed, his lips forming an understanding smile. He, of all people, knew what it was like to have a strong hatred of the world.

"Something like that." Itachi attempted a half-smile.

"Itachi, I know you probably don't want to talk about it, and I'd planned not to ask, but I feel like I should... What happened that night? Why did it come to that?" Neji's eyes showed his discomfort, and he looked away from the other.

As Neji guessed, Itachi knew what he was talking about. His face returned to its empty look, and Neji regretted asking. It wasn't his place to inquire about something so personnal, and he knew he'd crossed a line.

"You know what, Neji?" Itachi's voice was eerily even, "I just might tell you someday."

* * *

AN: Hello! I haven' put a chappie out in a while, sorry about that! I've been focusing on another story. I made this in quite a hurry, really just wanting to put something out. This is also a bit of a filler chapter. Showing how Itachi took the news about Sasuke, while also adding in Kurenai's take on the mission. Next chapter will be the entire Christmas vacation, so it should be pretty long, but there will be a lot of different bits to it, showing what everybody is doing. I'm really trying not to leave out any details.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! The next one should be out in no time!  
Thanks for reading!  
-MewMew


	18. The Vacation

**Chapter 18 - The Vacation**

"So...When we touch that thing we're going to get transported to the Tonk's household?" Kiba asked, looking at the old boot in disgust. It was dirty, torn, and smelly. When it came to germs he didn't much care about them, but when asked to touch the boot even he recoiled in disgust.

"Yes. You must touch it in precisely 45 seconds." Dumbledore said, "And wether or not you find them, Nymphadora will be at the house for the last week of vacation. When you're ready to return to school she'll send you back using floo powder."

"Understood." Tenten counted the seconds in her mind, with five seconds left, she told them to touch the boot. They barely had time to register Dumbledore's farewell before they were being transported.

It was all their first time using a portkey, and they found they didn't like it much. The feeling of being suspended in midair was unerving. They spun in circles for what felt like eternity before finally feeling hard soil beneath their feet. They were unsteady on their feet for only a moment before regaining themselves, letting the dizzyness wear off. They took a look at their surroundings.

They stood on short grass that extended around them for miles. The only thing to make a change to the green pattern was a house. It was a small, brick house that looked innocent enough. But the image of innocence disappeared after a closer look at the home. The door was off its hinges, there were claw marks the length of the door, and there were several broken windows. Without even entering the house they knew the inside would be a mess. The Tonk's family had certainly put up quite the struggle before being kidnapped.

With a small tilt of her head, Tenten gestured for them to approach the house. She halted them when they were a few feet from the entrance, "Hinata, I want you to scope it out first. Make sure there are no traps or anything."

Hinata nodded and activated her Byakugan, taking a look at the interior of the house and around it. Like most things of the wizarding world, the house was filled to the brim with chakra. If the object wasn't made of chakra, it was surrounded by it. She looked over everything, but found nothing suspicious. She deactivated her Byakugan and turned to Tenten. "There doesn't seem to be anything dangerous." She told the other girl.

Tenten nodded, "Okay, I want you to go in first, Kiba. I want you and Akamaru to remember the scents you find. We don't know what Andromeda and Ted look like, so we'll have to use their scent. Any other smells will be the kidnappers."

"Roger that, captain." Kiba said.

Kiba and Akamaru slowly entered the wrecked home, the sound of crunching glass and moving objects could be heard from outside. While waiting for them to get a good hold of the different scents, Tenten turned to Lee.

"Lee, I want you to see if there's any footprints somewhere around this area. If you find any, they might be a good indication to which way they went. Of course, it's possible you find nothing since they might have left through the use of magic." Once Lee was gone, her gaze fell upon Hinata, "Can you use your Byakugan to see if there's some left over traces of magic in the air? If they left through apparition there should still be some magic residue in the air."

Tenten hardly had a second to think of what to do next before Kiba stepped to the door and told her she was free to enter. And she did so.

The house was as messy as they had presumed it to be. There was not one object in the entire home that hadn't been moved or broken. She found it sad. People worked hard to make their homes the way they wanted it, and there had clearly been a lot of work done in that home. Tenten and Kiba stood side by side, looking at the area and inspecting it.

"There's nothing. It's still possible that they used apparition. It has been two weeks since they disappeared." Hinata told her, entering the house and joining them.

"I see." She mused to herself.

"The marks on the door look like they were created by either a dog or a wolf. Either is likely." Kiba noted.

"Yes, and there's no doubt there was at least one shinobi in the gang. Those are senbon and kunai markings on the wall. And there's a kunai wedged into the ceiling."

"I went to the main bedroom and the bed was unmade. They were probably sleeping when they were kidnapped. They fought, going from the bedroom, to the bathroom in that bedroom, to the dining room, to the kitchen, and then to the living room. I'm sure that it was exactly in that order as well."

"There had to be at least two different enemies. They separated Andromeda and Ted, and they fought in different rooms. The protego charm was used. The way the kunai in the ceiling is angled, it had to be deflected from a shield."

"Probably an expelliarmus as well." Tenten picked up a fallen wand and pocketed it. She'd give it to its rightful owner once they found them.

"There's a front and back door, but it's possible they were pulled out from a window since all of them are broken." Kiba finished their short observation of the house.

Hinata said nothing, her eyes going over the surfaces. There were shoe smudges on the hard wood floor, and several more claw marks like the ones on the door on several other surfaces. It was hard to tell where they had exited the house because it looked as if they had gone in and out several times before they were actually taken away permanently.

Lee entered the house after a moment of silence passed where they continued to assess their surroundings, "There are footprints. And they go far."

"I suppose that's all were going to get from the house. Let's follow the footprints. It's been two weeks so the trail is cold, but there's still a chance the enemy is at the end of that trail. Be cautious." Tenten warned them and they agreed.

They left the house in its ruin, and followed Lee to where he had found the footprints. They were hard to make out, but they were there. There were several different sets, some overlapping the others. With closer inspection, Tenten deduced that the Tonks' had been carried as the five sets of footprints became three further down the path.

They took off in a run, keeping their eyes on the footprints and following their path. Lee had been right. They did go far.

"Their scent is getting stronger." Kiba commented after several minutes of running.

"Excellent. Then we are headed the right way." Tenten said.

A long ways away from the house there was a forest. And it was as they entered this forest that Kiba halted them. "The scent stops here. It's strong all over this area." Kiba told them as they stood with trees surrounding them and trampled grass beneath their feet.

Tenten circled the clearing, thinking aloud, "Why would they come all the way out here if they were going to apparate anyways? They didn't keep going because this is where the steps stop, so they had to apparate. Hinata, can you check to make sure? But a shinobi apparating would require so much chakra...I don't think it's even possible."

"I'll take a look." Hinata agreed to do what Tenten asked of her and she activated her bloodline limit.

Her three teammates watched her as she searched their surroundings. It took her longer than they thought it would and they were curious as to what was taking her so long. She had to have found something. They waited anxiously to know what she had to tell them, and they were all relieved once she opened her mouth to speak.

"They didn't apparate. There's an illusion placed on that tree, and beyond it there's a passage. It leads to some kind of underground hideout. There's currently five people there, two ninjas and three wizards. Two of them are Andromeda and Ted."

"Are you certain it's them?"

"Yes. They're being constricted by ropes and they're-eep!" Hinata covered her mouth with her hand and her Byakugan disappeared from her eyes.

"What is it, youthful Hinata?" Lee asked, concerned.

"They appear to be being tortured, for information I assume." She mumbled, embarassed by her own reaction. "I believe they call it the cruciatus curse and it...Seeing it with my Byagukan, it seems to be the wizard version of the curse mark."

Tenten bit her bottom lip, deep in thought, "They're three, we're four. And one of them is only a wizard. We'll be fine. Let's go in."

"Are you certain, Tenten? I don't doubt your word, I just...It's most likely some of Orochimaru's men. When they attacked the village they were quite powerful." Hinata voice held a tone of uncertainty, her fear of insulting Tenten evident.

"It might be some of the Akatsuki's men, too. We can't completely rule them out as enemies." Kiba added, "I know we're supposed to trust them, but I can't. They're dangerous and deadly criminals. They don't give a damn who they kill and what harm they cause to others. Why would they care about who's on top if they can get money and satisfaction no matter what?"

"You're right, Kiba. It is hard to trust them. And we don't really have to as long as we continue to be their allies. Trust can only build with time. The only way we're going to know for sure what side they're on is when it's time to fight. But until then, we just have to accept that they're our allies. And yes, I'm certain Hinata. Let's go now before they're more hurt than they ought to be." Tenten said, "It's this tree, right?"

She went to stand next to a large tree with a wide diameter, with easily enough room for a person to fit within it. Knowing that the normal sign for getting rid of genjutsu would not work on the illusion created by a wizard, she pulled out her wand. Waving it at the tree, she said, "Finite incantatum." Effectively terminating the illusion.

Behind the illusion was a large gap in the tree. Tenten looked down and saw a hole that lead to, what she presumed, was the underground hideout.

"Ready?" She asked them. They nodded. (Lee with extra enthusiasm. As annoying as it was at times, his optimism was welcomed.)

She jumped into the hole, her feet landing on hard soil, and within seconds her teammates were all standing by her side.

**-XxX-**

A loud shrieking voice echoed throughout the home as the Weasley's, Harry, and Hermione entered Grimwauld place in a loud bustle of noise and excitement. They were greeted by Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, and Moody. The first two hardly had a chance to say hi before being forced to shut the curtains in front of Sirius' mother's painting. After she had been silenced, hugs and cheerful smiles were exchanged.

Harry had a long chat with his Godfather, who afterwards handed him a letter. Although only his name was writen on the front, he knew that it came from Dumbledore. Harry recognized the neat and curly handwriting.

Only in the privacy of his and Ron's room did he open it, his two best friends by his side. On it was written a place, a date, and a time.

_'The street corner, December 20th, 10:30pm.'_

Harry looked at his friends, "That's in four days." He commented pointlessly.

"He wants to meet you there. Alone I'm assuming. We'll have to sneak you out without Mrs. Weasley noticing. Professor Dumbledore would surely explain why you weren't here if she does find out, but it would be best to keep this all a secret." Hermione said.

"But why does he want to see you?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know."

"It must be important."

"Maybe he'll tell you why his hand is all burnt up. It'd be nice to know." Ron took the paper from his hands and turned it over repeatedly, as if looking for something more even though there was nothing else writen on it.

"Yes, it would be." Harry wasn't happy about being kept in the dark about something he knew had to be of importance, but he was glad to know that Dumbledore would be meeting him face to face for the first time that year. Harry was feeling brushed aside by the way Dumbledore was avoiding him. But, he could not think too badly of him. Because Harry kept his own secrets. The dark corridor...The mysterious door...The never ending struggle of trying to get past it. Not even his friends knew of it.

They were unable to further discuss the current topic because the sound of somebody knocking on the door reached their ears. Harry took the letter from Ron's hands and stuffed it in his pocket just as the door was opened. Fred and George entered the room with their usual mischievous grins and joking attitudes.

"Supper is ready."

"And it smells delicious."

"As always."

"And if you don't hurry downstairs it'll all be gone by the time you show up."

"We'll be there in a second." Ron told his twin brothers in an irritated manner.

"Is little Ronniekins upset?"

"Do you want a kiss to make it better?"

The twins sat by his sides and made kissing sounds in his ears, and Ron swatted them away, a glare present on his face. Harry and Hermione couldn't help but laugh at their friend's misery. It was normal for Fred and George to tease Ron, and Harry had grown used to it. He couldn't imagine it not being an everyday happening.

Harry allowed himself to be pulled into the joy of the moment, laughing and smiling with them, the letter in his pocket forgotten until that night when he would pull it out and reread it. Several times. He wondered what it was that Dumbledore had to tell him. The question floated in his mind until he was distracted again, and then it would return and disappear. The routine remained the same until the night he would meet Dumbledore. That night, the thought never left his mind.

**-XxX-**

The reception room was full of witches and wizards of all ages as Itachi and Neji entered St. Mungo's. They stared at the oddities and deformations that made up the reasons for their being at the hospital. People in lime green robes were going up and down the rows of people, writing things down on clipboards. They stood at the entrance, overwhelmed by the size of the place and the large amount of strangers there. Madam Pomfrey had told them where to go, how to enter the hospital, and which floor to go to, but they still found themselves confused.

Neji went to the large sign on the left of the main desk, where writen on it was the floor guide. He turned to Itachi, who had followed him, "Second floor it is." The second floor was for _Magical Bugs_ and it appeared to be the only floor that would be able to heal Itachi. Madam Pomfrey had told them it would be the right floor, and Neji didn't doubt her word.

Itachi nodded. They made their way through the mass of people and towards double doors that were on the right side of the desk. Behind it were more Healers, and they passed them and went to the set of stairs at the end of the hall. They climbed two stories and exited at the door marked _Magical Bugs_.

"This is a waste of time."

Neji sighed, "Don't say that. Madam Pomfrey is certain they can heal you and she, of all people, would know."

"I've seen doctors and they've all said it was incurable. Magic isn't going to change that."

"Miracles happen." Neji halted a witch in a lime green robe, "Ma'am?"

"Yes?"

"We're looking to get him treated, could you tell us where we need to go from here?" He asked politely.

The woman smiled kindly at them, and Neji guessed that it wasn't the first time she'd been asked a similar question. She pointed down the hall, "If you keep going, there will be a blue door to your left. That's the registration room. You can't miss it."

Neji thanked her and they continued down the hall. Some of the doors were open, and they could see sick people in beds with their family and friends surrounding them. Some of the people had nobody, and he couldn't help but pity them a little. It was the Christmas holidays. Surely somebody could take the time to visit them.

The Healer had been right. The door couldn't be missed. Not only was it a vibrant blue, it also had the word _'Registration'_ printed on it.

"Why are you insisting on this?"

"Because you're my ally. You'll be more useful if you aren't sick and puking up blood all the time. Now, are you going to go in there willingly or do I have to make you? Do you really want detention for the next six months?" Neji held the door open, waiting for Itachi to go in first.

This time it was Itachi's turn to sigh, "Detention isn't much of a threat, but I suppose you're right. If they can make me better, I should take advantage of that fact. In the end, we're going to need all the strength we can get."

They stepped into the registration area, stunned by the brightness of the room.

**-XxX-**

He almost regretted staying at school during Christmas vacation.

All of the shinobi were irritating and got on his nerves without even trying. He'd been glad when few of them had stayed at the school. There remained Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro, and the two that annoyed him the most. At least the first three were calm and didn't say much. Hidan and Deidara were anything but.

They were not the only things making him cringe. The Christmas decorations reminded them of the cheery holiday he wouldn't be getting.

He was needed at the school to do an important task, and he knew time was fading away. The luxury of going home was not an option.

Not like he wanted to go home. The people there were not those he would enjoy spending his time with.

"I could make amazing art with all this snow, yeah. If I make a snow ball and lace it with my clay, imagine the kind of explosion it would make! And you know those brats, yeah? The first years? They like making snow people. Overnight, I could slip a bomb inside one of them and when they go to look at it tomorrow morning...Bang! They wouldn't know what hit them, yeah!"

"Do what you want. Itachi isn't here to scold you. But don't bring me into it. I don't give a flying rats ass about your 'art' and I don't feel like enduring 72 hours of whatever torture that fuckhead could think to do to me."

"Don't you want to scare a bunch of kids, yeah?"

During the Christmas vacation, as there were so few students, those who remained were allowed to sit at whichever table they wanted. That's why Deidara was sitting with Hidan at the Slytherin table. They began to bicker lightly, and he'd had enough of it.

He couldn't even glare at them or tell them to shut up, knowing that as shinobi, they could kill him and hide him somewhere where nobody would ever be able to find him. His father had insisted on him being, not nice to them, but patient. His task was too important for him to die halfway through it. All he could do was get up from his seat and leave the dining hall.

He would continue his task if he could not eat in peace.

If he succeeds, the Malfoy family will once more be respected by the Dark Lord. And Draco would finally get the recognition he deserves.

* * *

AN: Hello peoples! LO SIENTO! SORRY! JE M'EXCUSE! SCUSI! -Insert apologies in all other languages of the world-. This has taken me forever to put out and it's not even a good chapter...I am really sorry. I was distracted with other stuff...But I'll be better! I'm in a Harry Potter mood since I've got tickets to go see the premiere which is this week! Me is so excited!

The next chapter will be a continuance of these four parts. It'll be longer than this, I promise! (And they'll all end. No cliffhangers.)

Feel free to throw bricks at me. Or cars. Or rabid squirrels. I deserve it.

But, I'd love to thank **fayfan, AnimeGal1251, SilverLunaMoon, hippielicious, **and** Mad. WonderfullyGloriouslyMad** for the reviews they left me on my last chapter! The wonderful comments really made my day/week/month/life!

Thank you for reading and for being so patient!  
-MewMew


	19. The Destinations

**Chapter 19 - The Destinations**

Finding the Room of Requirement had been purely accidental. Luck had been on his side ever since.

The vanishing cabinet had seemingly just come to him. He'd needed it, and it had appeared.

He walked through the rows of miscellaneous objects that loitered that specific room that the Room of Requirement created. Not only did it aid him in his task, given to him by the Dark Lord, but it kept him away from the shinobi. If they found out that he was working on a way to get the Death Eaters into the castle and that he was supposed to murder Dumbledore, he was not so cocky as to believe he would wake up the next morning.

Some of them stayed at his home. The Dark Lord used the Malfoy Manor as his new hideout, and often with him was Orochimaru. Death Eaters and shinobi alike ate at their dining room table, which was the main reason for his refusing to return home for the holidays. But if anybody among them asked why he didn't not go home, it was to continue working on the vanishing cabinet. His aunt Bellatrix was pleased by that.

He wasn't good at fixing things, especially something as intricate as a vanishing cabinet, but he was doing well enough. It wouldn't be long before he had it functional again.

**-XxX-**

Tenten put a finger in front of her lips to silence her teammates before they even uttered a word. They were at the begining of a tunnel and voices could be heard echoing off the stony walls towards them from the other end. They masked their chakra as best as they could, and slowly made their way to the people. Before they made it too far, she stopped them to give them final instructions.

"We fight to capture, and if that doesn't appear possible, we fight to kill. I'll go in first, Lee, you can back me up. If things get out of hand, Hinata and Kiba, the two of you can step in. Try to stay with your original teammate, it'll be best for all us that way. We already know each other's strengths and weaknesses and that's a necessity right now. We don't leave until we get Andromeda and Ted Tonks. Got it?"

Her three teammates nodded in agreement and they continued the rest of the way. With only a short distance left, Tenten once again halted them and signaled that she was going in.

She removed one of the two small scrolls that were at her waist. Using the shadows to hide her, she approached the end of the tunnel, where she saw the three kidnappers and the Tonks' leaning against the stony wall, tied down with ropes. She unrolled her scroll and began to launch a small amount of weapons at the enemies, getting an idea of what they were capable of.

The wizard, whom she now knew was a werewolf by his appearance, stepped out of the way with a growl, and remained there. He was a wizard and knew that she was a ninja. He was not so foolish as to believe he stood a chance. The two shinobi dodged her attacks and she stopped after a moment. She stood still with a few meters separating her and them, and her thoughts were wild. She had a strong feeling that she knew who they were. Or at least, that she should know who they were. But names refused to come to her.

"I thought you said this hideout wouldn't be found?" The man of the two asked the werefold.

"It has never been infiltrated before." His voice came out in a low growl, eyeing her suspiciously. "How did you find it?"

"I'm a shinobi." Was all she said as way of explanation. "What information were you hoping to get from these two?"

"Always straight to the point. You Konoha shinobi need to take a chill pill." The woman said with a sneer.

"You're supposed to be dead!"

"Kiba!" Tenten scolded him, as he came forward and stood next to her, pointing at the man.

"Ah, Kiba. And your dog." Akamaru barked. "I see you made it out alive."

"You shouldn't have. You were dead. I was there, I _saw_ it happen."

"Put the poor kid out of his misery. He looks confused as hell." The woman said as he laughed.

"Alright. All you need to know is that Lord Orochimaru has mastered the resurection jutsu. Yes, I was dead, but now I'm not. Simple enough for you?"

Tenten stared at her teammate, asking him for answers with her eyes.

"This is Sakon. And Ukon." He added as an afterthought and got a smug nod in return, "The ones I fought on the Sasuke retrieval mission. And she must be Tayuya. The one who fought Shikamaru."

"Should I feel honoured to be remembered?" Sakon went into his fighting stance, "It'll be nice to get revenge. You didn't beat me fairly, pup. This time you'll know defeat."

Kiba dropped down on all fours, "We'll see about that."

Tenten didn't stop him from charging at him. She knew that Kiba had come very close last time they had fought, and he knew the other's fighting style, and that of them all, he would stand the best chance against him. Hinata and Lee remained in hiding (although she knew the latter was begging to join), and she was glad they stayed there. She would deal with Tayuya then the man, and if she needed help, she knew there was some.

**-XxX-**

The registration area was bright. The walls were painted white and lights illuminated the room. There were two people in line in front of a small desk, and Neji and Itachi went to stand behind them. Keeping a small distance between them. He'd read on the floor guide that the second floor was for _Magical Bugs_ which also included things that were contagious.

The people who had been there before them soon went into a different, for what, neither of them knew as they weren't listening to what the Healer told them. Within moments it was their turn to speak to the plump, blonde woman behind the desk.

"How may I help you today?"

"My friend here is sick, and he needs to be treated as soon as possible." Neji told the Healer. He didn't enjoy speaking for others, but knew that Itachi wasn't going to speak for himself. He refused to believe that this was the right move to make and have any part in making it go forward.

"Do you know what his sickness is?"

"No, there doesn't appear to be a name for it."

"What are his symptoms?" The woman had a notepad flat on the desk with a quill writing on it by itself as they spoke.

"He caughs up blood and has bouts of breathlessness. We were told that he has some kind of virus that is eating away at his lungs."

"Did it eat up his vocal cords as well?"

"No, he's just..." Neji looked at Itachi, searching for words.

"I don't waste my breath nor my time."

"Uh huh." She said, "You've seen a Healer before?"

"We're from Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey suggested we come here."

"Ah, yes, Poppy. She sent you to the right place. What's your name?"

She went on to ask them all of the questions that she was required to ask. She told them to go to the same room the previous two patients had gone through, and she told them it was where they did a thorough check up. They thanked her and went where she told them to go.

In that room there was another Healer, who told Itachi to sit on the bed so that he could do the check up. Neji sat on a chair in the corner, and watched intently. The Healer waved his wand and a light passed over Itachi, like a scanner. The light disappeared in seconds. Suddenly, Neji saw writing appear on the Healer's notepad that was resting on the counter. The Healer took the notepad and read what was writen on it, while both Neji and Itachi remained patient and quiet.

"There's some good and bad news here. The good news is, you can be healed. Bad news is, it's a painful process, but I'm sure you can handle it."

Neji saw Itachi's face go blank. Though the latter refused to show that he was pleased by the news, the former would allow himself the freedom to express it, "That's excellent news." He went to stand near the Healer and patient, "What is it exactly that you'll be healing?"

"There are two things. The first is the reason you're here. There's a virus in your lung, heart, and chest area, and it's forcing your organs to work harder than they should, and it's slowly decomposing them. It can only be expelled from your system with a potion. This potion will accumulate the virus and eject it through the use of regurgitation. I can also heal your eyes to a certain extent. I can help you keep your eyesight for fifteen, maybe twenty, more years. After that..."

"You're going blind?" Neji didn't bother to hide his surprise at the revelation.

Itachi ignored him. "Where do we go now?"

"You'll be in room 213. The potion will be made immediately, and you'll have to take it every hour for the next 24 hours. To heal your eyes you'll need to wear a bandage with a special charm placed on it over your eyes for that same amount of time. I'll come see you once I have these things ready. Just go back out to the main hall and your room will be to your left."

He took that as a dismissal. He got off the bed and left the room, Neji following close behind.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going blind?" He asked as they made their way to room 213.

"It's none of your business."

"I would have told you."

"Nobody knows about this and I'd like to keep it that way."

"I'm not going to tell anybody, if that's what you think." He said, clearly insulted by the accusation, "You still should have told me."

"Why?" Itachi asked as they entered his designated room.

"You told me that you were sick, why not about this as well?"

"I don't talk about this."

Neji merely sighed.

They waited nearly half an hour in silence before the Healer came into the room with the things he would need to heal Itachi. He had a glass with a transparent liquid in it in one hand and the bandages in the other. Itachi sat on the bed, there was only one in the entire room, and Neji watched from afar as the Healer handed him the glass and told him to drink its contents.

The look of disgust that appeared on his usual stoic visage almost made Neji laugh.

With only one sip taken, Itachi held out the glass, "I am _not_ drinking this."

"It's your choice. If you want to get healed, drink it. If not, the door is right there."

There was a long pause where not a sound rose into the air. Eventually, Itachi stared at the glass and gave it one more look of disgust before drinking its contents. Without a word he handed the object to the Healer who took it with a smile.

"I'm glad you chose the right option. Now, you need to keep these bandages around your eyes for twenty-four hours. You may remove them to go to the washroom or if you really desire your vision, but in doing so you're extending your time here." The Healer gave him the bandages and Itachi grabbed them hesitantly. "Make sure their tight. They'll feel hot, but that's just the charm doing its magic. I'll be back in an hour to bring you your second dosage."

Even once the Healer was gone, Itachi continued to stare at them. Neji understood why. A shinobi was vulnerable when their vision was taken from them, and being vulnerable was something they avoided at all costs. But, if he didn't wear them he'd end up losing his vision permanently and that wasn't any better.

"I highly doubt that we're going to be attacked here."

"There is nothing certain about doubts."

Neji drew closer and took the bandages from his hands. Without a word he began to put them on him, glad that he didn't get any protests. Before tying the knot, he asked, "Too tight?"

"No."

He tied the knot. He pulled a nearby chair next to the bed and made himself comfortable on it.

For several hours Neji and Itachi chatted or remained in silence, the Healer coming in every hour with a glass filled with the potion. Almost halfway through his treatment, Itachi could no longer hide the pain caused by the potion and the virus, and he was forced to lay back and sleep through it. Neji remained in the room, even as darkness began to descend outside the window. (Odd as they were underground.)

Neji grew bored sitting on the chair doing nothing. He didn't even have someone to converse with, as Itachi was sleeping soundly. The Healer had given him permission to spend the night, but had told him to either stay in the room or leave the hospital completely. Since he was a shinobi, sneaking around was an easy task. The Healer wouldn't know.

He left the room, assured that Itachi would be fine without him there. He returned to the staircase and began to walk up. If he were seen, his excuse was going to be that he was looking for something to drink. Once the idea was in his head, he realized that he was quite thirsty and made his excuse a fact. He remembered reading on the sign that the tearoom was on the fifth floor, but stepped off at every level.

Nobody had said anything about the hospital being infiltrated by the Dark Lord, but he figured that since it was night and nearly empty, he might as well investigate a little while the chance was in front of him.

The third floor _-Potion and plant poisonings- _held nothing of much interest. There was a man giggling uncontrollably, a woman covered in dark purple bumps, and a man who had drunk too much veritaserum. After checking those three rooms, he used his Byakugan to look at the rest. Everything appeared fine. People were sleeping and the Healer's all appeared at ease. Nothing appeared off so he left that floor and went to the fourth one.

The fourth floor was _Spell Damage_. He wandered down the hall, most of the doors were closed and held sleeping occupants. There was one that was ajar, and he used his bloodline limit to see what was within. He saw somebody resting on one of three beds in the room, the other two were unoccupied. He frowned upon noticing a figure hunched over the taken bed.

Masking his chakra, he approached the door and peered inside.

The figure wore a hooded robe, and he had his back to the door. The man on the bed was looking around the room with lost eyes and his mouth moved, but made no sounds. Neji listened as the figure spoke to the disoriented man.

"-you're getting your mind back. We can't have that. Some of the Dark Lord's servants wanted to send a plant, but Lord Orochimaru didn't believe it to be suitable. I quite agree. Why kill somebody if the death isn't painful and prolonged? It isn't fun otherwise."

Upon closer inspection, Neji saw the the figure held a vial in one hand. It was empty. As the seconds ticked by the man on the bed began to squirm and fidget. His eyes explored the room in a frantic manner. His fingers began twitch and his body shook. Pain was visible in his eyes. The figure put away the vial and straightened up.

"Broderick Bode, you should be honoured to have served Lord Orochimaru and the Dark Lord in their quest. Now they are ready for tomorrow night. It appears the old fool, Dumbledore is his name I believe, is going to be following in your steps. He knows what we have found out by using you. He will be bringing the boy. Ah, but you don't know what I'm saying do you?"

"No, not really. But I intend to find out."

Neji stepped into the room and the figure turned to him. The hood cast shadows accross his face, but Neji saw his green eyes shine in the little amount of light and strands of white hair were framing his face. He didn't recognize him. He looked briefly at the dying man on the bed, before returning his gaze to his murderer. Whatever poison he had used on him, it was certainly slow acting. Neji would have liked to help Broderick, but knew there was nothing he could do.

"And who are you?"

He went into his eight triagrams stance, the man being within his range, and activated his Byakugan, "You're one of Orochimaru's minions aren't you?"

"And you're a shinobi who's way over his head. Lord Orochimaru is going to win. But I suppose we all have the right to fight for what we choose."

Neji was about to step forward to begin his attack, but stopped. A ringing sound echoed throughout the room. Looking at the man, he saw that he had died. Within seconds footsteps could be heard approaching the room. The man left the room in the blink of an eye and Neji didn't stop him. He also left in a hurry, knowing that if he was found in that room he'd be questioned feverishly.

They ran past the Healers going to the room, too fast for them to see them, and Neji followed him to the staircase that lead to the other floors. The sound, most likely some form of alarm, faded as they descended the stairs. Upon reaching the second floor, he saw the Healer who'd been taking care of Itachi walking towards his room with the potion in his hand. It was time for another dosage.

He let the man go. He was supposed to be there with Itachi, watching over him while he was in a moment of vulnerability. With a simple confundo charm he slipped past the Healer and returned to the room where Itachi was waiting for him.

"You weren't here when I woke up." Itachi commented.

"I know." He waited for the Healer to come to the room, give him the potion, and leave again before giving him an explanation. He was only interrupted once when Itachi had to puke. It came out a dark, grey sludge, and though it was slightly disgusting, Neji was relieved. It was better out than in.

It was a mutual decision that after his healing was over that the two of them would return to the school and speak to Dumbledore. He would surely know what the man was talking about.

But by the time they made it back to Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall told them that Dumbledore was already gone.

* * *

AN: Yeah. Get ready for a long author's note. First of all, I know this chapter isn't complete. The second part, with Tenten, Kiba, Lee, and Hinata, was cut short because I didn't want to continue wasting my time trying to find out what to write. And I didn't even bother with the Dumbledore meeting Harry part. (Neither did I even proof read this chapter.) I don't expect anyone to have enjoyed this chapter or to be very happy with me right now...

Second of all, I'm discontinuing this story. I have no more inspiration for it, and you can't just make it come. (I've tried.) Writing this story has become a chore for me, instead of fun like it should be. I don't want to keep writing it since I'm only going to put in a little bit of effort and you'll end up with crap chapters, like the last several ones. This leaves me with two choices. Either I discontinue it completely, as in, I wait a couple weeks, write 'discontinued' in the summary, then delete it, or, if anybody wishes to adopt this story, tell me so. I did put a lot of time into this story and I don't really wish to just delete it, but I'll understand if no one wants it. If you want to adopt it, PM me.

Lastly, I would like to thank everybody who's read up to now, who reviewed, favourited, and alerted to this. I am very sorry for ending it like this. If you're angry, feel free to let me know. (I'd personally hate it if somebody suddenly chose to delete their story.) But this story isn't as good as it could have been, and I apologize for that as well. Thank you for the patience you've given me, and for sticking around so long. I really am sorry about this decision.

Thank you,  
-MewMew


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